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= **Special Challenges of Libraries in the Pacific Islands** =

**Introduction** As their name suggests, the Pacific Islands are a large group of islands located in the Southern Pacific Ocean. The islands themselves are often grouped into three regions; Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Within these three regions are a number of countries and dependent territories. The major islands are listed below:
 * Melanesia: New Guinea island, the Bismarck Archipelago, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu (the New Hebrides), New Caledonia, and Fiji;
 * Micronesia: Palau, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia (the Caroline Islands), Nauru, the Marshall Islands, and Kiribati;
 * Polynesia: New Zealand, the Hawaiian Islands, Roturua, the Midway Islands, Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, the Cook Islands, Wallis and Futuna, Tokelau, Niue, French Polynesia, and Easter Island (Pacific Islands, 2011).

While New Zealand and Hawaii are both considered to be part of the Pacific Islands, the articles on this site generally exclude them from discussion, as they are quite different from the other islands. Specifically, New Zealand and Hawaii have much more developed economies and cohesive communications infrastructure than the other islands in the Pacific.

**Challenges for Libraries** Due to their geographic isolation from the continents, libraries located in the Pacific Islands are faced with a number of challenges that can impede their ability to provide top quality service to their patrons. Among these challenges are an underdeveloped library and information studies education system, weak communications infrastructure that has left many islands on the wrong side of the digital divide, and an imperfect local publishing system. Furthermore, given the seismic activity of the Pacific Rim all organizations, including libraries, must ensure that they have adequate disaster management protocol. These topics will be discussed in detail in the the articles linked below:
 * Library and Information Studies Education
 * The Digital Divide
 * Publishing Issues
 * Disaster Management

**References** Pacific Islands (2011). In //Encyclopaedia Britannica online.// Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/437647/Pacific-Islands