As a branch of International and Area Studies Librarianship (IASL), East Asian Librarianship has become increasingly important in an age of globalization as scholars engage in interdisciplinary research and study. Volume 1 of Inside Major East Asian Library Collections in North America presents an extensive collection of interviews that give key insights into Japanese and Korean librarianship. East Asian Studies librarianship requires a variety of technical skills, combining deep subject background with knowledge of library processes/workflows, an awareness of research trends, and digital developments in their respective fields. Professionalism, tradition, standards, respected bodies of knowledge and individual practicing professionals’ personality traits are closely examined over both volumes. Inside Major East Asian Library Collections in North America promotes shared understanding of librarians’ work and contribution to society and will enable further collaborations and new services, utilizing the unique and distributed nature of their expertise. This compendium of interviews with East Asian librarians in the U.S. and Canada affords the reader insight on multiple levels into the careers of individual librarians and the commonalities and distinctive aspects of individual East Asian collections, particularly rare items. A valuable introduction to the world of East Asian librarianship, the book provides a variety of perspectives on daily work, career paths, administration, problems facing the field, and fulfillment found in the work. Collectively, the essays are an affirmation of the importance of printed collections and a ringing endorsement of East Asian librarianship. -- Gail King (Retired Asian Librarian, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University) Someday, when we all realize how special librarians are, we shall find that this book offers a most intimate insight into their lives. With a consistent set of questions, a comparative perspective emerges from this direct methodology―a new dimension to library studies that allow real librarians to speak for themselves.” -- Prof. Lian-Hee Wee (Department of English Language and Literature, Hong Kong Baptist University) I am very glad to hear of the publication of this new book introducing some of the major East Asian library collections and their curators. I am sure it will be read with interest not only by professionals in the field but also by anyone concerned with recent developments in area studies. -- Charles Aylmer (Head of Chinese Department, Cambridge University Library) Inside the World’s Major East Asian Library Collections in North America is a highly informative and much anticipated account of many of the world-renowned Asian book and manuscript collections connecting East and West. Celebrated and supported by their academic institutions locally, the libraries discussed in this comprehensive volume are often unparalleled behemoths of knowledge holding published and archival resources that are at times completely unique and yet accessible regionally, nationally, and internationally. In our globally connected 21st century, these exceptional libraries collect the literary genius and recorded histories of the past and allow present and future scholars to study some of the rarest primary sources to advance our field of study in the decades and centuries to come.” -- Dr. Florian Knothe (Director of the University Museum and Art Gallery, University of Hong Kong) Inside the World’s Major East Asian Library Collections in North America is an important new title to collections experts of Asian materials. At a time when the world is facing tragedies of anti-Asian racism, it is critical to continue to collect and preserve Asian collections for scholars and students for teaching, research, and learning to continue sustaining awareness and understanding of Asian cultures and histories. The editors of this volume have insight and experience in balancing the languages and areas of academic libraries of North America, focusing not only on CJK, but important ethnic collections from the Okinawan to Cantonese collections. It is an outstanding contribution to the field and serves as a key reference tool for librarians, researchers, and cultural administrators. -- Allan Cho (Community Engagement Librarian, Program Services, Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, University of British Columbia) A profoundly interesting and useful volume of 42 interviews with librarians administering East Asian collections in North America. It is an excellent read for those interested in developing an international library collection, as well as students and researchers in East Asian Studies. Contributors discuss how they entered this branch of librarianship, developed their collections, and share their practices. As a developer and instructor of the course “ILS 450: Global Perspectives in Librarianship,” this is a perfect model embracing trends in international coll