Literacy and Reading Programmes for Children and Young People: Case Studies from Around the Globe presents interviews with over 40 librarians from around the world who tell of their library programs. The volumes are arranged geographically with Volume 1 offering interviews from library professionals from the USA and Europe, and with Volume 2 sharing programs from Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Middle East.

The volumes highlight the diversity of the types of programs catering to the varying needs of children and young adults throughout the world. Case studies featured in this book outline the details of programs, events, and activities provided by over 40 organizations in the context of social capital and social inclusion. Each interview chapter discusses the contributions made to literacy development and community building of children and teens. With the many variations and examples of best practice, librarians and educators can glean new ideas for their own programs.

The interviews reveal the challenges and issues faced and the work being achieved in vastly different environments, in many geographic areas, and in diverse economic, social, and cultural contexts. The programs include those of national and state libraries, public libraries, and mobile libraries carried out by public libraries, NGOs, and commercial organizations in both developed and developing countries. They also feature programs of multicultural libraries, libraries for indigenous people, and libraries for refugees.

This publication complements the range of initiatives and activities carried out by IFLA’s Libraries for Children and Young Adults Section that supports library services and reading promotion initiatives catering to children and young adults around the world. These volumes are rich in variety and will provide much food for thought for creating unique and successful library programs.

Dr. Patrick Lo served as Associate Professor at the Faculty of Library, Information & Media Science, University of Tsukuba in Japan. He earned his Doctor of Education (EdD from the University of Bristol (UK), and has a Master of Arts in Design Management (MA) from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, a Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) from McGill University (Canada), and a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) from Mount Allison University (Canada). He also took part in a one-year academic exchange at the University of Tübingen in Germany. He is efficient in Chinese (both Cantonese and Putonghua), English and German. Dr. Patrick Lo has presented nine monographs and 150 research papers and project reports focusing on librarianship, humanities, and education at different local and international workgroup meetings, seminars, conferences, etc., including in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Turkey, United States, and Sweden, and at institutions including the Library of Congress (US), Austrian National Library (Vienna), University of Vienna, National Library of France (Paris), National Institute of Informatics (Japan), Konrad-Zuse-Center for Information Technology (Berlin), etc. His latest book projects on international comparative librarianship include Conversations with Leading Academic and Research Library Directors: International Perspectives on Library Management; Inside the World’s Major East Asian Collections: Conversations with the World’s Leading East Asian Librarians, Archivists and Museum Curators; World’s Leading National, Public, Monastery and Royal Library Directors: Leadership, Management, Future of Libraries; and Conversations with the World’s Leading Orchestra and Opera Librarians.

Stephanie H. S. Wu is a freelance writer from Hong Kong. From a young age she has developed an appreciation for literature and a lasting interest in the humanities. She has built a personal brand through blogging and specialises in photography, design, and writing. She has become a corporate ambassador and social media promoter for multiple companies and has had her creative work publicly endorsed by a television series. Stephanie is currently expanding her portfolio to reach other creative industries and has plans to start an ecommerce business.

Andrew J. Stark is an Associate Dean and Head of Libraries and Information Services at The Southport School, an independent Anglican School for boys, on Queensland’s Gold Coast, Australia. For the last ten years, he has been directly involved with developing and promoting library services within independent schools and the broader community. He has completed extensive research into the value of creating positive learning and teaching spaces for all members of the school community. Andrew recognises that the modern librarian requires skills far beyond that of literary expert and research assistant. The contemporary library context now requires public relations experts who can coordinate open, democratic spaces while managing the plethora of available ICTs and text-types, thus enabling students, staff, and parents to make sense of what is on offer in the 21st century library. Andrew is also a member of the Human Research Ethics Committee at Bond University, Gold Coast, Australia.

Bradley Allard is currently a Reference and Outreach Librarian at the Clark County Public Library in Winchester, Kentucky, USA. He received an MLIS degree from the University of Kentucky, an MA in the Japanese language and literature from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, and a BA in English literature from the University of Kentucky. He has also spent extensive time studying in Japan as an exchange student at the International Christian University and the University of Tsukuba. His research interests focus on multicultural services in public libraries, outreach services to prisoners, and international librarianship.