Area studies librarians and international book fairs: the Hong Kong Book Fair experience

摘要

In a newly established venture to support librarians who are working to build collections to better serve their East Asian user communities, the American Librarian Association (ALA) and the Hong Kong Book Fair (HKBF) provided funding for a group of ten U.S. academic and public librarians responsible for selecting Chinese language materials to attend the July 2001 HKBF, which in recent years has become one of the largest gatherings of booksellers in East Asia. This article discusses how international collection development is enhanced and professional librarian skills are honed through participation in organized programs such as the HKBF/U. S. Librarian Invitation Program.