Serving Diverse Populations

Serving Diverse Populations

Elective

Given the following resources are available to the candidate:

  • Library’s mission and long-term plan.
  • Access to demographic data for the community served.
  • Access to data on current library programs, services, and facilities.
  • Data on staff and board recruitment, selection, hiring, training & development, management, promotion, and firing.

The candidate is expected to:

  • Determine the demographics trends of the community served.
  • Determine the degree to which services and programs meet the diverse needs of current and future populations.
  • Develop a plan to enhance access to library services by diverse populations.
  • Develop a plan to market library services to diverse members of the community (see Marketing).
  • Develop a plan to enhance staff and board diversity.
  • Evaluate how well the library is meeting the needs of diverse populations (serving, employing, etc.).

The criteria to judge the adequacy of the performances are:

  • Number and type of diverse populations served.
  • Programs, services, resources, and facilities are meeting the needs of the community’s diverse populations.
  • Management systems support acquisition and maintenance of a culturally diverse staff and board.

Learning Objectives:

  1. Have a heightened sense that all segments of a library’s community have a right and a need for the valuable services libraries deliver.
  2. Know how to develop an accurate demographic picture of cultural and ethnic makeup of their communities.
  3. Be aware that the library and its role differ from culture to culture.
  4. Acquire techniques to create or adapt library programs, services, and collections so that people of various cultures find those programs and services valuable to them, and so that the library is a more useful and welcoming place for them.
  5. Understand the importance of having a diverse workforce and governing structure for the library – to not only create a more welcoming atmosphere for customers, but also to provide a richer internal information and decision-making environment among the staff.
  6. Know both traditional and non-traditional sources and techniques for recruiting library staff and trustees.