China Territories
hickok speaking at library conference
hickok at libraries
catalog systems
Speaking at the Southeast Asia library conference The Macau University library (left) and a branch public library. Notice trilingual signage: English, Chinese and Portuguese A sample of modern and user-friendly facilities in a Hong Kong library
Vietnam
Hickok training librarians
Ribbon cutting ceremony
vietnamese decimal system
Presenting my training session to 80-plus librarians in Ho Chi Minh City With U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam, Michael W. Marine, at the U.S. Embassy's ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new materials center at a northern Vietnam university A typical classification shelf sign: Dewey Decimal call number ranges, in Vietnamese

Laos and Cambodia
book box

Hickok at the National Library of Laos with some "book boxes" -- portable mini-libraries that the National Library, in cooperation with and funding from NGOs, fills with books and sends to the public schools.

rural and city library

An urban-rural contrast: At bototm, this urban Laos high school reflects the old-style Soviet concrete block architecture. At top, a rural Laos high school reflects very limited conditions.

Hickik and Chanthan

Hickok with President Chea San Chanthan, president of Pannasastra University -- with whom Cal State Fullerton has a partnership.

shelves

Some challenges in academic libraries, include shelves that are mostly just filled with textbooks, and reference books that are inaccessible — such as behind these glass cases, not convenient for open browsing.


Myanmar
Buddhist School Yangon University Library Private library volunteers
Visiting the library at a Buddhist K-12 school. Many young apprentice monks, like the one next to me, enter the monkhood to get an education. Myanmar has one of the highest percentages of Buddhist monks in the world. The Yangon University library. While this building dates to the 1920s, there are plans for future upgrades (computers, etc.) A private, NGO library, run by volunteers. A couple cultural notes: the Myanmar writing, as you see in the sign, is quite stylistic. And the tradition of wearing the "longyi" (wraparound) instead of pants still dominates -- everyone wears them, both men and women.
Thailand
hickok with Thai Library president
Hickok on a boat
Thai Library sign
Meeting with the president of the Thai Library Association. This longstanding librarian - now into her 70s - was an amazing treasure-house of information! I attended the Thai Library Association's annual conference. "Boat commuting" to a library appointment. In my years at CSUF, I've commuted by car, carpool, bus and train. Now I can add "by boat" to my list! Here, I'm taking a commuter boat up Bangkok's river to get to one of my library appointments. Bilingual Library of Congress Classification sign. (In the Thai script and English, posted in one of the university libraries)
Singapore and Malaysia
Receiving Award

Receiving a gift from a Malaysian library director (wonderful hospitality!)

Library Lobby

The modern/high-tech lobby of one of the Singapore polytechnic libraries.

hickok in Malaysia library

My visit to a Malaysian university library (note the Malaysian flag in background — while the red and white stripes and blue upper field bear some resemblance to the U.S. flag, the yellow crescent definitely sets it apart.)

hickok presenting to students

Giving a presentation to the Singapore Library Association (SLA). I was invited to address them on "Current Trends In U.S. Academic Libraries."


Philippines
hickok in islamic school Hickok in indonesia hickok in islamic school
Posing with a large class of undergraduate LIS students, whom I gave a guest lecture to. Do the students seem young? They are. In the Philippines, secondary education is two years shorter than in the U.S., so students enter universities at age 16! A typical example of a middle-size university library. Note the many fans. While AC certainly does exist in many libraries, in other libraries, or in certain sections/rooms, it does not. So it makes studying tougher, with the warmth and humidity. Visiting students at an elementary school library. Although my focus is academic libraries, in order to understand the IL skills students have upon entering universities, I've investigated the library facilities/services that exist at the elementary/secondary level too.
Indonesia
Hickok iin indonesia hickok in islamic school Hickok iin indonesia
Me next to a university “Perpustakaan” sign (Indonesian for “Library”). Me with the library staff at an Islamic university in central Java. Me with students at a university library, after giving an invited presentation on "U.S.-Indonesian library similarities/differences."