An unfair division of resources and biased treatment favoring the ruling elites have perpetuated social discrimination in the postcolonial societies in developing countries. Pakistan, one of these countries, has struggled to emerge from the legacies of colonialism. The situation demands strong support of equality, social justice, and the rule of…

While recreational reading material was once an integral part of the academic library collection and librarians were seen as guides in reading development for students, this has not been the case in the last 50 years. Fiscal constraints have forced library professionals to make choices so that leisure reading material has not been viewed as a high…

Games and other forms of play are used in today's libraries to attract underserved patrons, to introduce patrons to other library resources and services, and to facilitate engagement between library patrons. While many perceive gaming as a new library service, gaming services have been part of librarianship since the nineteenth century through…

Encouraging pleasure reading is not traditionally seen as the role of academic libraries. Those students who take time for reading, however, are better poised to succeed in college. Declining rates in reading among young people are cause for alarm, and many libraries at academic institutions are developing programs to promote this pastime. This…

It's winter! While it is frosty outside, one can at least think warm thoughts by starting now to plan ahead for summer information literacy programs. This article is designed to provide some ideas for planning next summer's reading, sleuthing, and research programs. It features a variety of programs organized by academic librarians this past…

While library programming for children is a staple in most public libraries, it is quite rare in the academic setting. In 2006 the education librarian at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire began offering literacy programs in a library that traditionally discouraged children and community members from using its resources. Successful programs…

During the summer, thousands of soon-to-be college students will read books as part of campus-wide "shared reading" programs (also referred as to common reader programs, one book programs, etc.). Such programs are designed to provide incoming students with a common experience and invite exploration of particular themes (e.g., diversity, etc.),…

Library involvement with Campus Reading Experiences (CRE) at two community colleges and two 4-year institutions are described. Each chosen case study reflects a strong library presence in institutional level program planning and instructional development for deeper student learning related to the CRE. In particular, the case studies highlight the…

This paper discusses the status of library services and reading in Mali. Following an introductory section that provides miscellaneous data about Mali, the first section of the paper describes the development of libraries in Mali before the colonial period, during the colonial period, and during the independence period up to 1977. The libraries of…