This document discusses the role of digital libraries in supporting international higher education initiatives. It examines how several universities with international branch campuses provide digital library resources like e-books and e-journals to their offshore programs. The study found that about half of the libraries have separate digital library portals and collections for their international programs, while the other half integrate them into main campus resources. It concludes by proposing further analysis of how effective these digital library portals are and surveying librarians about services for cross-border education.

1. Digital Libraries on a Global Scale:
Digital Library Services for International Higher Education Initiatives
Harriett E. Green
English and Digital Humanities Librarian, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
green19@illinois.edu  @greenharr
Globalization of Higher
Education
The globalization of higher education is
more dynamic than ever, as universities
are launching cross-border education
initiatives to export their scholarly
products abroad. What are the roles of
digital libraries in these international
education initiatives?
Digital Library Resources
for Cross-Border Education Initiatives
12
10
6
•
•
No. of library web portals
4
2
Separate interface to
electronic resources
exists (external to
catalog)
Independent Ejournals collection
Comparison of digital resources
15%
46%
54%
Independent E-books
collection
Uses main campus ebook collection
Uses campus ejournals collection
85%
Independent ejournal collections
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
NYU Abu Dhabi
NYU Shanghai
Northwestern at Qatar
Temple University
Japan
Temple University
Rome
Texas A&M Qatar
VCU Qatar
• Full analysis of websites’ information architecture: how
effectively do the digital library portals for cross-border
education initiatives provide research services?
• Possible survey of technical services librarians at
institutions with international campuses and initiatives.
Independent E-books
collection
Independent Ejournals collection
Duke-NUS Medical Center
Carnegie Mellon Qatar
Cornell-Weill Medical
College at Qatar
Georgetown University in
Qatar
Lakeland College Japan
Liaoning Normal UniversityMissouri State University
Next Steps
0
Data
Preliminary analysis was conducted of
international campus libraries’ websites
and digital library portals created for
international initiatives.
•
•
•
•
8
Libraries in Cross-Border
Education
Green published a study in College &
Research Libraries (2012) that
examined how libraries offered
research services on international
branch campuses. This study builds
upon this research work to consider
how library research services for crossborder education are primarily offered
through digital libraries.
Schools Examined
Independent E-book
collections
green19@illinois.edu  Twitter: @greenharr
SELECT REFERENCES
Detlor, Brian and Vivian Lewis. “Academic Library Web Sites: Current Practice and
Future Directions.” Journal of Academic Librarianship 32, no. 3 (2006): 251-258.
Green, Harriett. “Libraries Across Land and Sea: Academic Library Services on
International Branch Campuses.” College & Research Libraries 74, no. 1 (2013): 9-23.
Knight, Jane. “Is Internationalization of Higher Education Having an Identity Crisis?”
in A. Maldonado-Maldonado and R.M. Bassett (eds.), The Forefront of International
Higher Education: A Festschrift in Honor of Philip G. Altbach. Higher Education
Dynamics 42. New York: Springer, 2014. DOI: 10.1007/978-94-007-7085-0_6.
Wildavsky, Ben. The Great Brain Race: How Global Universities are Reshaping the
World. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2010.
2013 DLF Forum November 3-6, 2013