Recognize the diversity (such as cultural and economic) in the clientele and employees of an information organization and be familiar with actions the organization should take to address this diversity.

Introduction

Information is powerful because it has the capacity to compel change in individuals and society at large. Librarians understand that systemic inequities denied access to information and resources. The profession of information science has taken a stand to advance equitable service.

In this MLIS program and in practice as a library assistant of the Fresno County Public Library (FCPL), I have been exposed to the existence of diversity and how that diversity is accompanied by barriers that discourage or outright prevent patrons from using their local library branch. A professional within the fields of information science must have knowledge of the diversity of their staff and of their clients. This document explores diversity and inclusion within the context of public libraries.

Explication

Diversity

User-oriented service is the cornerstone of librarianship and all of its subfields. To achieve user-oriented service, institutions must first respect and acknowledge the diversity in their select clientele and within their own library staff. Diversity arises at the intersection of multiple cultural, social, and economic facets. Differences in ethnic or racial background, culture, economic and social class, language, religion, gender, and sexual orientation can partition people into distinct groups. In Western society, certain groups reap oppression and exclusion while other groups awarded privileges.

Prejudice and bigotry run rampant. Ignorance is one of the contributors to such attitudes and beliefs. It is crucial for librarians and information science professionals to take a stand within their own sphere of influence to counter discrimination derived from bias and intolerance.

From the acknowledgment of diversity by a professional of information science follows the acceptance of their own biases. When personal limitations would infringe upon service to aa specific individual, the librarian or library staffer should adeptly refer that patron to a resource or library co-worker to avoid discriminatory service.

Constituent populations change over time. For a library to remain apprised and responsive to the current makeup of their clientele’s diversity, they need to examine current demographic trends. When possible, libraries should support and engage in research on diversity. The population’s composition should then be considered in every step of decision-making at the institution.

Libraries “must reflect the communities they serve if they are to continue to be indispensable organizations to the communities they serve” (ACRL, 2012). Libraries must respect the diversity of individuals and embrace the diversity of ideas. While public libraries are created by a society, with its own biases and social norms; but regardless of such origins, they strive to work effectively in cross-cultural situations.

Inclusion

Public libraries are uniquely positioned to support underserved groups and take a stand against inequality. It is not simply enough to provide a welcoming environment. Librarians must take a stand by actively pursuing inclusive policies, programs, and services to counter prejudice and discrimination. Collection development initiatives can provide accessible content to underserved populations. To ensure equitable access to library collections, libraries need to purchase materials in an equitable fashion based on the demographic of the patron population. Stories should include representation of all demographic groups. Factors such as language and format should also be considered. Constituent populations change over time, for a library to remain apprised and responsive to the current makeup of their clientele’s diversity, they need to examine current demographic trends.

To assess how a public library utilizes its resources in an equitable manner across all the demographics of its population of patrons it should ask questions such as: What does the library provide for the physically impaired? How easily can the homeless or financially disadvantaged access library collections and services? What library resources can homebound individuals use?

LGBTQ Community

Libraries function as a safe haven for at risk groups including the LGBTQ community. In particular, public librarians—as a profession—have made an effort to reach out and support LGBTQ youths.

The acronym LGBTQ stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer. Lesbians are women who are primarily attracted to other women. Gay persons are attracted to members of the same sex and more specifically, the term gay refers to men who are attracted to other men. The term bisexual refers to a person who is attracted to both people of their own gender and another gender. Transgender persons do not identify with their assigned birth gender or the binary gender system (of male and female). The word queer refers to the entire LGBTQ community. “It is important to note that the word queer is an in-group term, and a word that can be considered offensive to some people, depending on their generation, geographic location, and relationship with the word” (Milone, 2011, p. 2).

The historical oppression of the LGBTQ community is reflected in the rise of attempts to challenge and ban books in the United States from libraries and classrooms. Even early representations of alternative sexuality in unfavorable ways. To be inclusive of this community, library collections of fiction should have honest depictions of LGBTQ individuals. Nonfiction content should address issues of acceptance and highlight the experiences of past and current LGBTQ figures in an unbiased manner.

Elderly Demographic

As a demographic group, the elderly cope with impairments that may make it more difficult to utilize library collections and resources. Large print and online collections are one common method that public libraries use to reach this demographic. Tailoring library services to working with the elderly requires staff to accommodate individuals with exposure to technology and be accepting of cognitive rigidity when interacting with them.

While websites may make this elderly demographic uncomfortable, it does not change the fact that a library’s website is a crucial service point for these individuals. To facilitate its use, websites should use be mobile friendly with traits such as limiting scrolling to the vertical direction. The design of the website should also account for the fact that people including the elderly could initially land not just on the website’s homepage but on any of the website’s webpages. Therefore, a website should enable navigation from each individual webpage towards a user’s objective for visiting the website.

Aging is also correlative to isolation and depression. By providing opportunities for social engagement and outlets for creative expression, public libraries can be key partners in combatting this. Libraries must be proactive in removing barriers that discourage or prohibit the elderly from accessing their local library.

Immigrant Communities

Immigrant communities create unique demands for public libraries. It is a challenge to provide a satisfactory experience to patrons from multiple populations of non-English speakers. Part of equitable access is the support of a collection of foreign language materials, through the selection of relevant materials for the local immigrant communities. Building sites should also be equipped with multilingual signage whenever possible and libraries should work to hire staff fluent in the languages spoken by the local immigrant community.

Personally, I have experienced great difficulty in assisting such patrons with their technology-based questions. I generally rely on Google Translate through the web browser and have occasionally employed a translator app on my smartphone to assist with limited success in communicating with such patrons. Service points such as the reference desk or circulation desk should be equipped with a patron-facing screen to facilitate communication with non-English language speakers through Google Translate. This setup is also useful in reference and readers advisory and for demonstrating the library’s online resources and instruction on the subject of technology literacy.

Homeless

Homelessness is not a simple issue, but its prevalence is sure to increase as rising inflation outpaces wage growth and as housing costs continue to rise. Libraries can provide a safe place to rest, entertainment drawn from their collection of materials, and opportunities for independent study. Probably the most effective ways a library can assist the homeless is to connect them to resources through referrals to meet their basic needs and job application assistance for the segment of the homeless population that is unemployed.

Building a Diverse Workforce and Assessment of Cultural Competence

Regular assessment of an organization’s performance with regards to cultural sensitivity is necessary to verify that cultural inclusion objectives are met or that progress towards the objectives has been made. “Cultural competency standards are only as good as their effects can be measured,” (ACRL, 2012). A critical part of any cultural competency assessment is user or community feedback that such an assessment collects. Libraries should apply qualitative and quantitative data generated from a culturally competent assessment to identify service delivery systems that target the appropriate constituent groups and align current programs to follow these service delivery systems and develop new programs and services with these culturally inclusive service models in mind.

Institutions must work to achieve and maintain cultural competency. To assure the culturally competent practice, organizations should follow a framework to clearly communicate to all of its members the values of the institution and the process that the institution will follow to accomplish this. Librarian administrators must first acknowledge that “matters of cultural pluralism …are not intuitive and must be learned” (ACRL, 2012). From this premise, they should implement a framework that employs multiple strategies.

Libraries shall recruit and maintain a diverse workforce to match the demographics of their patron population. Hiring and recruitment should follow a diversity plan. Measures such as including cultural competency requirements in job descriptions and employing cultural competence as a measure of promotion may help in this regard.

All library staff should undergo diversity training. Diversity training raises awareness of one’s unconscious biases in an effort to curb the unintended propagation of discriminatory behavior. Diversity training allows institutions to align themselves with the value of inclusivity and engender a respect for diversity. The goal is to work effectively in cross-cultural situations.

While public libraries are created by a society, with its own biases and social norms, they should strive to overcome these biases and provide inclusive, culturally sensitive services and programs to the communities they serve.

Evidence

Evidence 1: Gillis Mobile Printing Handout

When the FCPL rolled out Mobile Printing to the branches that could secure funding. The support offered did not address the wide variety of patrons that use the library. I revised the instructional filer to better serve the technology-reticent of which the elderly persons make up a significant portion of this population. As evidence of my knowledge of the economic diversity of public library patrons, I submit the handwritten corrections on the administration-provided handout and the final product of those revisions as evidence of my knowledge to serve patrons with less exposure to technology. Not only do I correct incorrect information, but I also revise instructions to be more specific such as replacing the phrase “select you print job.” with the phrase “select the OK button.” I acknowledge that the instructional handout has too much information to be an effective handout, but these edits made a significant improvement to the usefulness of the instructional handout.

Evidence 2: Pronunciator Handout for Spanish Speakers

I have put forward this flyer as evidence of my knowledge on how to reduce barriers for non-English speaking populations for Competency C. The FCPL is a largely agricultural community with a large community of immigrants and a large community of migrant workers. Both communities are in need of assistance in obtaining proficiency in the English language to make it easier to make their way around and provide for their own livelihoods. One resource that provides in this vein is Pronunciator.

Pronunciator is a comprehensive resource [similar to the Rosetta Stone language learning software] that provides instruction on different languages on a variety of different proficiencies which may include flashcards and speaking sessions and even critiques a user’s pronunciation. The downside is that the program is resource-intensive and that many patrons lack the equipment necessary to run Pronunciator or even the skills to comfortably engage Pronunciator in their quest to learn a second language.

While it is great that the FCPL offers this, it is underutilized due to people not understanding that it exists. I have taken Spanish courses and can communicate in broken Spanish phrases; but for the purposes of designing this flyer, I relied on Google Translate and had three Spanish-speaking coworkers review the infographic. While limitations on staffing and other resources have limited FCPL’s ability to tackle this issue, part of the solution must include better utilization of existing resources by “making users more aware of resources”—particularly the Pronunciator language-learning service (McClelland, 2014, p. 350).

Evidence 3: Incarcerated Persons and Public Libraries

To attest to my knowledge of adhering to the ALA’s standard of equitable access to library services and resources for all demographic constituencies for Competency C of this portfolio I am submitting this essay on collaboration between prisons and public libraries.

The focus of many collaborative outreach projects between public libraries and correctional officers is to grant limited and controlled access to the library’s printed materials. Printed materials must be screened for contraband that may be hidden within a printed volume. In addition, the content of the material must be appropriate given the circumstances. Printed materials must be screened for contraband that may be hidden within a printed volume. In addition, the content of the material must be appropriate given the circumstances.

Generally, these newly released prisoners have a hard time supporting themselves. There are no easy answers to assimilating prisoners into the normal population, but public libraries are a good starting point for former inmates looking for work. It seems that it wouldn’t hurt to give such inmates a head start on the process.

References

Association of College and Research Libraries. (2012, May 4). Diversity standards: Cultural competency for academic libraries (2012). http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/diversity

Inklebarger, T. (2018). Restricting books behind bars: Books-to-prisoners groups face roadblocks. American Libraries, 49(6), 22–23. http://libaccess.sjlibrary.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=129980370&site=ehost-live&scope=site

International Spectrum. (2016). LGBT terms and definitions [PDF]. https://stlukesuccindep.org/mt-content/uploads/2017/07/lgbt-terms-and-definitions-_-international-spectrum.pdf

Johnston, J. (2009, December). Books behind bars: is correctional librarianship a job for you? http://www.ala.org/aboutala/sites/ala.org.aboutala/files/content/olos/incarcerated.pathfin.pdf

McClelland, T. (2014). What exactly do you do here? Marketing-related jobs in public and academic libraries. Journal of Library Administration, 54(5), 345-367. doi: 10.1080/01930826.2014.946736

Milone, N. (2011). Public Libraries and the Homeless. Public Libraries, 50(6), 13–22. http://libaccess.sjlibrary.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lls&AN=69881923&site=ehost-live&scope=site