On the applicability of IFLA standards in different local contexts : the case of IFLA school library guidelines in China

This article reports responses to the IFLA’s school library guidelines by school librarians in South China. The IFLA’s 16 guidelines-based recommendations were presented to representatives of eight schools, and a workshop was organized in response to their feedback. Librarians and principals from 42 schools in Guangzhou assessed the guidelines both before and after the workshop. Most recommendations were considered applicable, but several areas were thought to be poorly suited to the Chinese situation. Many participants’ concerns about the relevance of the recommendations were allayed by the training provided during the workshop. However, the training not only informed the participating school librarians of the areas in which the recommendations were appropriate but also highlighted areas where they were not. In particular, participants felt that some elements of the recommendations were politically insensitive and that the lack of status of school librarians in China would make some of them impractical.