| Convocation on Providing Public Library Service to California’s 21st Century Population | [Back] [Contents] [Next] |
All librarians, but more importantly ethnic librarians, need to ask what are we doing to position libraries at the heart of our communities? Are libraries visible and viable institutions that are relevant and serve the needs of our constituents? Are there other avenues to pursue that create a stronger library through a widening breadth of connections? Are services that benefit the community being actively promoted? Are librarians assuming that the public understands what we do? Who is taking responsibility for the commonweal, making positive changes and demonstrating pride in who we are?
The Institute for the Future's report, Entering the 21st Century: California's Public Libraries Face the Future, is the latest study that describes the accelerating pace of diversification. For example, it states that the non-Hispanic population is aging and that the Hispanic population comprises more than 50 percent of the population under the age of 15. As the demographics continue to change, is there full understanding about the impacts created by an ethnic California?
I believe that the profession took a positive step when the State of Change process and its progeny, the Partnerships For Change (PFC) program, began to focus attention on the needs of California's ethnic populations. Their successful programs enriched communities by bringing together groups and individuals previously unconnected to libraries. This process should be more widely disseminated as an effective example for other libraries to emulate.
Given the current situation - politics, finances, the impact of technology, competition from other information providers, public apathy (or benign neglect) of libraries and reading - librarians have been forced to come to grips with the reality that we cannot afford to do it alone or in our quiet, behind-the-scenes manner. Coalition building, collaboration, partnerships - these are the themes that must be embraced if libraries are to remain viable.
The library's traditional roles - as providers of equitable access to information, conduits for lifelong learning, safe harbors in a chaotic world, and preservers of culture - are still relevant. Librarians need to understand the stresses placed on libraries and clearly define our mission, roles and services in this changing new world. These messages must be communicated to the public and to local officials, including:
Individually we must be involved in our communities. We must become joiners. We must also become promoters of libraries and describe the library's competencies and benefits to the community. We need to become politically savvy and join others in fighting legislation aimed at curtailing the rights of ethnic populations. We must build coalitions within our own ethnic groups as well as with society at large. We need to foster an understanding about our mission and gather support from all levels. This must include the business sector. Individuals do make a difference. Take pride (orgullo in Spanish) in your endeavors. Here is what you can do:
O - Organize and create ethnic collections.
Post them on the Internet. Cyberspace is a world without boundaries, and
it is not monolingual!
R - Resources: share them with others.
Expand ethnic and cultural awareness by providing information no one else
may have. Without presenting our views, history and customs, we're
left out.
G - Groups: think partnerships, coalitions,
collaborations. You can't do it alone. Organize action groups in
the community. Create multitype library agreements.
U - Understand yourselves and your community.
Where do you want to go? Define effective methods to reach these
goals.
L - Learn more. Become more politically
savvy. Be innovative in creating new services.
L - Lead. Take leadership roles in
your community. Recruit people into the profession. Be
a mentor to students and to other ethnic library workers.
O - Outreach. Get out of the building!
Promote your library. Meet people. Use the media. Use
multimedia for enhanced and vibrant flyers, etc.
The California State Library and its consultants can continue to support our efforts with staff training, grants for ethnic services, public awareness campaigns, and leadership to produce a vision of the library for the 21st century that does not marginalize ethnic California. The issue is not about libraries as depositories of books and computers, but rather it is about preserving the quality of life that is inclusive of various points of view. By eliminating sectors of the population, society ensures that everyone's future is diminished. The library must become a positive force in society by increasing its role as a safe and neutral bridge builder that unites cultures.
When they work in harmony, the multifaceted cultures that comprise our society piece together the fabrics which create the beautiful and multicolored quilt that is California.