Patricia Montiel Overall presents a framework for cultural competency in the library and information science field. Cultural competence, as defined by Overall is “a highly developed ability to understand and respect cultural differences and to address issues of disparity among diverse populations competently (p. 176).” This framework, though attainable, is hard to achieve. The American Library Association has created committees, hosted panel discussions at conferences, and developed programs for librarians to implement at their libraries, all the while still feeling the gap between implementation and achievement.
In Overall’s article she discusses Sandra Balderama’s findings related to the LIS profession: “even where there is a clear interest in making needed changes related to diversity issues… there is a gap between what is said and what is done” (p.179). She goes onto say, “This gap ultimately reflects deeply rooted “attitudes, comfort zones, policies structures and past practices” that impede change.
To me, the quotations in the previous paragraph really hit home. It isn’t just about thinking up ways to integrate minority groups or under served populations into the library setting; it’s about librarians being comfortable with these groups once they’re there. We’re all trained to be sensitive to other people’s cultures and backgrounds but we aren’t taught to understand them. We don’t learn about why they believe the things they do, or what parts of their daily lives are most important. With that, we don’t learn what they want to get out of a library so that we can serve them the best way possible.
From my perspective “sensitive”, in this country especially, means pretending to understand but not asking questions when you don’t. We are told to feel comfortable with other groups but we aren’t taught what steps we should take to get there. For some people this is an intrinsic ability, but for others who don’t possess the skill, they may never feel comfortable for fear of being insensitive.
The other problem is not having enough staff and money to really see repairing these problems through. This might not be a problem everywhere but where I work it is a huge problem. While past practices (repeating the same programs, no desire for community outreach, pessimistic employees) stood in the way of change, now, realistically, there aren’t enough of us to support a large scale project. Right now we have to concentrate on getting our daily tasks done and serving those that come through the door. I’m sure a lot of libraries must feel this way too.
In saying that though, it feels like giving up. I hate giving up, especially when it concerns ways to improve perceptions people have about libraries. Recently, someone asked me if I talked a lot at work. They’re expectation being that libraries are quiet so I probably didn’t. However, I work at the reference desk. My job is to talk to people. Since we can’t avoid talking to people in our profession, perhaps this is one way out of cultural incompetence. Start small. Notice the different groups of people that use the library. Notice if they’re leaving empty handed. Ask what they’d like to see that your library doesn’t have. This is where our attitudes and comfort zones must be laid to rest. Not only will you learn about a culture you were unfamiliar with but you’ll earn the trust of someone in the community. Then when there is time or resources to invest in programming you might have someone to help develop programs that will really impact the people they are aimed at.
Overall, P.M. (2009). Cultural competence: A conceptual framework for library and information science professionals. Library Quarterly, 79 (2) 175-204.
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