Author Archives: Peter Lor

About Peter Lor

Peter Johan Lor is a Netherlands-born South African librarian and academic. In retirement he continues to pursue scholarly interests as a research fellow in the Department of Information Science at the University of Pretoria, South Africa.

Global gleanings #7

Posted on 2021-03-01 by Peter Lor

An infodemic: bad news In an earlier column I referred to the “infodemic”: a veritable avalanche of news, information, and misinformation that has accompanied the Covid-19 pandemic. Misinformation in a health crisis can have serious, even fatal, consequences.[1] Comments by … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Global Gleanings #6

Posted on 2020-12-01 by Peter Lor

My column of news, views and snippets from the international literature of books, libraries, and information, appears in every issue of LIASA-in-Touch, the newsletter of the Library and Information Association of South Africa. Here it is with clickable links. Covid-19 – … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | Leave a comment

2020 John Ames Humphry/OCLC/Forest Press Award

Posted on 2020-09-07 by Peter Lor

I’m pleased to share the news that the American Library Association (ALA) has honoured me with the John Ames Humphry/OCLC/Forest Press Award for 2020. The award was presented virtually during the ALA’s Annual Conference in June – which unfortunately I … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Global Gleanings #5

Posted on 2020-09-01 by Peter Lor

Covid-19 again When my previous column was written the news was dominated by Covid-19.[1] It was still mostly called an epidemic; the word ‘pandemic’ was only just coming into use. In South Africa a lock-down loomed. I reported on some … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Global gleanings #4: Coronavirus; library programmes; ancient manuscripts

Posted on 2020-05-31 by Peter Lor

This is a slightly expanded version of my column of news, views and snippets from the international literature of books, libraries, and information, which appears in LIASA-in-Touch, the newsletter of the Library and Information Association of South Africa.   The Coronavirus … Continue reading →

Posted in LIS, Uncategorized | Tagged | Leave a comment

Reviews of International and Comparative Librarianship: concepts and methods…

Posted on 2020-05-17 by Peter Lor

Since my last post on this topic, two new reviews of my book have appeared. More details appear under the heading Reviews and author interviews. I mention there a substantial and scholarly review article in Italian by Dr Anna Bilotta, … Continue reading →

Posted in Comparative Librarianship, LIS, The Book | Leave a comment

This Blog

Posted on 2020-03-14 by Peter Lor

In the course of a long career in librarianship – as a librarian, manager, professional leader, researcher and teacher – and through many years of participation in international programmes and activities, I have held the belief that libraries and information … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

International Library History News

Posted on 2020-03-14 by Peter Lor

In my work in international and comparative librarianship and information work, I make much use of historical material. Some comparative work is purely synchronic, considering  situations across cultures, societies or countries as things stand at a given moment in time, … Continue reading →

Posted in International Librarianship, LIS | Leave a comment

Global Gleanings #3: IFLA and the Developing World

Posted on 2020-03-01 by Peter Lor

  This is a slightly expanded version of my column of news, views and snippets from the international literature of books, libraries, and information, which appears in LIASA-in-Touch, the newsletter of the Library and Information Association of South Africa. In the … Continue reading →

Posted in International Librarianship, Uncategorized | Tagged | Leave a comment

From participation to mobilization:  new roles in French public libraries

Posted on 2020-02-19 by Peter Lor

In 2016 Raphaëlle Bats contributed an article to an issue of Library trends (vol. 65, no. 2) discussing the responses of French librarians to the terrorist attacks on Charlie hebdo and a Kosher supermarket on 15 January 2015. The LT … Continue reading →

Posted in International Librarianship, LIS | Leave a comment