Dominique Burns e-Portfolio

Introduction

Wong and Figueroa (2015) wrote, “Diversity connects with, complements, and advances two key principles of the information profession – intellectual freedom and equity of access” (p. 30). Two of the primary purposes of libraries are to provide equal access to information and to meet the information needs of their communities. Libraries “Provide tangible commitment to free speech, self-government, and self-education by collecting, organizing, preserving, disseminating, and protecting everyone’s rights of access to the richness of human expression in all its recorded form” (American Library Association, n.d.). Libraries should include diverse collections and services in order to provide their community with equal access to all kinds of information.

 

It is also equally important for librarians to recognize diversity with in their communities when creating those collections and services. According to Wong and Figueroa (2015) one of the ways organizations can better understand diversity is by using the Diversity Wheel. The Diversity Wheel below in figure 1 “Illustrates the multitude of experiences through which people live their lives” (Wong & Figueroa, 2015, p. 29).  The Diversity Wheel is important because it helps illustrate “That people do not experience life through a single dimension, but rather through multiple perspectives” (Wong & Figueroa, 2015, p. 29). Libraries do not serve just one group of people, but rather serve a diverse range of individuals. By better understanding community demographics, librarians can create collections and services that are relevant and valuable to the community. This is why it is extremely important for librarians to be aware a community’s cultural, economic, age, and gender diversities when creating collections and services. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Cultural Diversity

Cultural diversity “Refers to the harmonious co-existence and interaction of different cultures” (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, 2012, p.1). The United States is a culturally diverse country of over three hundred million individuals (US Census Data, n.d.). The Economist describes the United States as a “melting pot” of different cultures (2015). It is immensely important for librarians to recognize different cultures and backgrounds in order to provide relevant services and collections for all. Cultural diversity “Should be regarded as the set of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional features of society or a social group, and that it encompasses, in addition to art and literature; lifestyles, ways of living together, value systems, traditions and beliefs” (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, 2012, p.1). Every culture is different and recognizing those differences will strengthen library services and further organizational growth.

 

Economic Diversity

Individuals live in different economic situations and it is important that librarians remember this when creating library services and collections. Economic diversity in the library is extremely important. Some individuals may not have access to technology and need the library to learn new skills or apply for jobs. Libraries should include programs that support all individuals no matter their economic standing in life. The American Library Association provides the following guidelines for providing services to help those with a lower economic standing.

 

1. Promoting the removal of all barriers to library and information services, particularly fees and overdue charges.

2. Promoting the publication, production, purchase, and ready accessibility of print and nonprint materials that honestly address the issues of poverty and homelessness, that deal with poor people in a respectful way, and that are of practical use to low-income patrons.

3. Promoting full, stable, and ongoing funding for existing legislative programs in support of low-income services and for pro-active library programs that reach beyond traditional service-sites to poor children, adults, and families.

4. Promoting training opportunities for librarians, in order to teach effective techniques for generating public funding to upgrade library services to poor people.

5. Promoting the incorporation of low-income programs and services into regular library budgets in all types of libraries, rather than the tendency to support these projects solely with “soft money” like private or federal grants.

6. Promoting equity in funding adequate library services for poor people in terms of materials, facilities, and equipment.

7. Promoting supplemental support for library resources for and about low-income populations by urging local, state, and federal governments, and the private sector, to provide adequate funding.

8. Promoting increased public awareness—through programs, displays, bibliographies, and publicity—of the importance of poverty-related library resources and services in all segments of society.

9. Promoting the determination of output measures through the encouragement of community needs assessments, giving special emphasis to assessing the needs of low-income people and involving both anti-poverty advocates and poor people themselves in such assessments.

10. Promoting direct representation of poor people and anti-poverty advocates through appointment to local boards and creation of local advisory committees on service to low-income people, such appointments to include library-paid transportation and stipends.

11. Promoting training to sensitize library staff to issues affecting poor people and to attitudinal and other barriers that hinder poor people’s use of libraries.

12. Promoting networking and cooperation between libraries and other agencies, organizations, and advocacy groups in order to develop programs and services that effectively reach poor people.

13. Promoting the implementation of an expanded federal low-income housing program, national health insurance, full-employment policy, living minimum wage and welfare payments, affordable day care, and programs likely to reduce, if not eliminate, poverty itself.

14. Promoting among library staff the collection of food and clothing donations, volunteering personal time to anti-poverty activities and contributing money to direct-aid organizations (American Library Association, 2016).

 

It does not matter if an individual is homeless or extremely wealthy. Librarians have a responsibility to help with the information seeking needs of every individual. Everyone has a right to access information and librarians should keep this in mind when deciding what programs to include in their libraries.

 

Age Diversity

Children, teens, adults, and the elderly all use the library. Libraries should include services and collections that are representative of all ages. This could mean story times for children, homework help for teens, and technology classes for adults and elderly. One way to incorporate age diversity oriented programs is also through outreach programs. Everyone has the right to access information, even those who can’t make it the library. There are many elderly library patrons who are unable to make it to the library. These individuals are still a part of the community the library serves and have the same information rights. According to the American Library Association libraries can provide the elderly access to information through the following outreach programs:

 

1. Providing books-by-mail programs, home visits, institutional deposit collections, accessible bookmobiles, or other outreach programs for homebound older adults

2. Utilizing tools such as computer screen readers, screen magnifiers, or other tools to enlarge texts and providing accessible collections including audio books, large-print formats, or Braille titles.

3. Designing library spaces for accessibility, including clear aisles and pathways, available seating, accessible shelving, easy to navigate entrances (American Library Association, n.d.).

 

Gender Diversity

According to Cooper and Weaver (2008) there is a digital divide between girls and boys when it comes to technology related skills (p. 1). A digital divide is “The gap between those who have access to technology and those who do not” (Cooper & Weaver, 2008, p. 3).  In 2001 “Women made up over 50% of high school students” but less than 17% passed the advanced placement computer science tests (Cooper & Weaver, 2008, p. 5). As well only “4% of female college freshmen” were in a computer science related degrees (Cooper & Weaver, 2008, p. 5). According to the American Association of University Women Educational Foundation Commission of Technology, “Women make up only one of out five information technology professions” (Cooper & Weaver, 2008, p. 6). This digital divide starts at a young age and librarians have a responsibly to help combat that divide amongst genders. One way librarians can help eliminate a digital divide is through programs that are of interest to girls and boys. Makerspaces or STEM events that incorporate a diverse range of technology related interests are a great way of doing this. For example, librarians can create technology related programs for females that implement interior design programs, social video games, 3-D printing, and etc.

 

While researching the digital divide amongst genders I found a great article from School Library Journal on providing technology programs and role models for girls in the library. If you want to learn more about this topic, check out the article below.

 

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Evidence

The following evidence includes MLIS coursework that I have completed during my time at San Jose State University.

 

1. INFO 210 Reference and Information Services: Serving Special, Diverse, and Underserved Populations

2. INFO 210 Reference and Information Services: Outreach, Programming, Marketing

3. INFO 268 History of Youth Literature: Multicultural Literature Awards

4. INFO 268 History of Youth Literature: Multicultural Bookstore Inventory

5. INFO 286 Interpersonal Communication: Exploratory Essay: Cross-cultural Communication: High-context and Low-context Cultures in the Library

 

 

INFO 210 Reference and Information Services: Serving Special, Diverse, and Underserved Populations

 

Evidence:

• Discussion Post: Serving Special, Diverse, and Underserved Populations

 

This assignment required me to pick an underserved population and write about the challenges and opportunities libraries may face. This discussion post also required a minimum of two scholarly sources to support my opinions. I wrote about the challenges and opportunities that public libraries face for providing services to those in nursing homes. I discussed the financial challenges and the time required to provide outreach programs. I also wrote about the opportunities, such as providing a better quality of life for those in nursing homes. I found through research that the quality of life and mental growth for adults in nursing homes could be tied to library outreach programs.

 

INFO 210 Reference and Information Services: Outreach, Programming, Marketing

 

Evidence:

• Discussion Post: Outreach, Programming, Marketing

 

In this discussion post I wrote about creating programs for teens that support digital literacy skills now and into the future. This assignment required me to use a minimum of two scholarly resources to support my discussion post. It is important that school libraries help students cross the digital divide through programs that focus on life-ready digital literacy skills. This means programs that prepare students for higher education, work, and life after school. I also discussed examples of technology programs used at various school libraries throughout the United States of America. 

 

INFO 268 History of Youth Literature: Multicultural Literature Awards

 

Evidence:

• Discussion on Multicultural Literature Awards

 

This discussion post required me to read various viewpoints on multicultural literature awards and discuss were I stand on the issues. I wrote about the history of these awards in youth literature to also support my stance on the topic of multicultural literature awards. The essay required me to discuses if I thought it was appropriate to have literary awards for authors based on the ethnicity, race, gender, and/or sexual preference. The post also required me to discuss my thoughts on who should be able to voice or speak about a specific community or cultural experience.

 

INFO 268 History of Youth Literature: Multicultural Bookstore Inventory

 

Evidence:

• Multicultural Bookstore Inventory

 

This assignment was to visit a local bookstore and write a pretend letter to them discussing their children’s book displays. In lecture we learned 14% of children’s books published in 2015 featured multicultural characters. This assignment required me to analyze what percentage of the store’s children book displays showcased minority cultures. After visiting a local bookstore I wrote a pretend letter to them about my findings. The letter included community demographics and other analytics. In the letter I included my thoughts on what the implications of my findings meant for a minority child in the community.

 

INFO 286 Interpersonal Communication: Exploratory Essay: Cross-cultural Communication: High-context and Low-context Cultures in the Library

 

Evidence:

• Exploratory Essay: Cross-cultural Communication: High-context and Low-context Cultures in the Library

 

Librarians as managers must be able to affectively and successfully communicate with patrons and staff members. This exploratory essay examined factors that could influence communication and looked at ways for improvement between library staff and patrons. I looked at personality preferences, age, gender, socio-economic backgrounds, and educational backgrounds in relation to library communication practices. I analyzed different ways librarians could communicate with patrons from high-context and low-context cultures. This essay also explored the role of librarian in relation to effective cross-cultural communication in the library.

 

Conclusion

Recognizing the diverse backgrounds and information needs of our library patrons is essential to the success of a library. The ability to recognize community demographics and information needs is an important part to creating relevant library services and collections. My evidence above showcases my ability to research community demographics and create programs for individuals of all backgrounds. In the evidence listed above I researched cultural, economic, age, and gender diversities as part of successful library services.

 

References

American Association of School Librarians. (2016). Extending our reach: Reducing homelessness through library

    engagement. Retrieved from

    http://www.ala.org/offices/extending-our-reach-reducing-homelessness-through-library-engagement-7

 

American Association of School Librarians. (n.d.). Outreach resources for services to older adults. Retrieved from

    http://www.ala.org/advocacy/diversity/outreachtounderservedpopulations/servicesolder

 

American Association of School Librarians. (n.d.). Public libraries and intellectual freedom. Retrieved from

    http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/iftoolkits/ifmanual/fifthedition/publiclibraries

 

Cooper, J., & Weaver, K. D. (2008). Gender and computers: Understanding the digital divide. Mahwah, NJ:  

    Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., Publishers.

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Immigration in America: The melting pot works | The Economist. (2015). Retrieved from    

    http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2015/02/immigration-america

 

International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions. (2012). Multicultural library: A gateway to a

    cultural diverse society in dialogue. Retrieved from

    http://www.ifla.org/files/assets/library-services-to-multicultural      

    populations/publications/multicultural_library_manifesto-en.pdf

 

USA QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau. (n.d.). Retrieved from

    http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/00000.html

 

Wong, P., & Figueroa, M. (2015). Information services today: An introduction. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

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