Educating for International Interdependence: The Role of the Academic Library--Ohio University and Malaysia.

There is a role, and even a responsibility, for academic libraries in the United States in cooperating with students, scholars, colleagues, institutions, and governments in Third World nations. For example, the international library internship program, in which professional librarians at the middle-management level spend three to six months undertaking a personally tailored program of practical experience, addresses a real need for Malaysian librarians by providing opportunities to work with the latest in library and information technology in a library setting. In particular, Ohio University Library's Southeast Asia Collection not only affords librarians and library science faculty from Southeast Asia an opportunity to work with many of the same materials and languages they will encounter in their home institutions, but also offers valuable assistance in the exploration of the applications of technology to library services. More recently, the establishment of the Malaysian Resource Center within the Southeast Asia Collection recognizes the reality that the Southeast Asian Collection should be a primary source for anyone seeking research materials on Malaysia and represents a long-standing commitment to service beyond the immediate users at Ohio University. The Center will provide Malaysian and American students and faculty across the United States with opportunities for research and exploration. References are cited in four notes. (KM)