Technology around the world: eight countries, shared problems

Abstract

Purpose — This editorial aims to discuss how technology has transformed the cultural map for libraries so that experiences in Taiwan, Iran, India, Greece, or New Zealand are relevant anywhere in the developed world. Design/methodology/approach — The methodology draws heavily on cultural anthropology in looking at the cultural context and its changes over time. Findings — Four sets of shared problems emerge in these articles: technology applications to solve specific library problems, user studies, cataloging issues, and electronic publishing. These are topics that librarians discuss around the world. Originality/value — It is a commonplace today that technology has tended to equalize widely separated parts of the world. This is obviously true in terms of consumer goods, but appears to be less well accepted in terms of scholarly endeavor. The international and intellectual breadth of this issue can be seen as something to celebrate.