In Kim and Sin's article they state: “In a library with an ethnically diverse workforce, all the users, regardless of their ethnic and cultural background, will be able to find someone whom they can relate to and get services relevant to their needs and preferences. With a better understanding of cultural values, languages, and information needs of the minority community, librarians of color can provide effective reference [17], information literacy [18], and collection management services [19] and also reach out to diverse users [19–21]” p. 154.
There is a lot to be said about finding a familiar face. Public places, even libraries, can be intimidating. Patrons can feel vulnerable if they have little experience with libraries, computers, or how to locate the information they need. Patrons can also feel rejected if a library doesn’t carry the kinds of information that they are seeking.
The library I work at straddles Detroit. We have a lot of Detroit residents who use our library because it’s closer than the Detroit Public Library. While our library and Detroit Public library don’t have a reciprocal borrowing agreement we offer guest passes for computer time and a non-resident card, both for purchase. University High School, a feeder school for Lawrence Tech University, is in our neighborhood and a lot of the student body is made up of Detroit residents. These students are allowed a free library card. While we try to be accommodating, there is still a lot more we should do. Especially considering that the second largest population in Ferndale is African Americans.
Our library is not culturally representative of the area where we live. No one on staff is African American. Our Urban Fiction collection is sadly lacking. Our teen collection is overrun with supernatural fiction and void of current fiction that would interest the students from University High.
Having a more ethnically diverse workforce would really help fill in the gaps. As the fiction buyer at the library, it’s my responsibility to pick up the slack and meet the demands of our users. I can read reviews, wikis, journal articles, or books published by Triple Crown but I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to really get it. Sometimes I just feel overwhelmed by urban fiction, or even religious fiction, for that matter.
If our library were more representative of our community, there might be a co-worker who could make the selections or help with the selection. I have the same problem buying light fiction, romance, and religious fiction. Our library is not only lacking in ethnic diversity but also in beliefs and backgrounds. It really comes down to knowing what people want, and knowing when something is missing. If we are a homogeneous staff then there is less of a chance that someone will say, “Hey, you’re missing this.”
I think it’s important to grow as a person. If you really love your job you should try to do the best you can do with it. It’s our responsibility as librarians to have collections representative of all cultures and all viewpoints. It is a daunting task. Covering all cultures and all viewpoints might actually be impossible. But to keep from being a cultural void we must align ourselves with patrons from different ethnic backgrounds. If we don’t know what we’re doing, it’s important to know that and then ask for help. When I’m asked where the Urban Fiction section is, I should show them and then ask what they’d like to see that’s missing. It’s all about creating a dialog. Then, even if I don’t look like you, at least I tried to know what you like and the next time you come in I can say, “Look what just came in.”
Kim, K., & Sin, S. (2008). Increasing ethnic diversity in LIS: Strategies suggested by librarians of color. Library Quarterly, 78 (2), 153-177.
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