public libraries

My professional development activity relating to the topic of racial diversity was the preparation and delivery of a Harmony Week Storytime for 0-5-year-olds and their carers. Harmony Week is “a time to celebrate Australian Multiculturalism, and the successful integration of migrants into our community” (“About Harmony Week,” n.d., para. 2).

Books chosen to reflect the theme were Handa’s Surprise by Eileen Browne, Happy in Our Skin by Fran Manushkin and Whoever You Are by Mem Fox.

Storytime is the perfect time to gently introduce important topics such as diversity to children, as stories can be highly influential (Naidoo, 2014, p. 2). Harmony Week Storytime was ideal for examining how a children’s library program could be used to explore diversity.

Children use social experiences, stories, and images to develop ideas of how their culture is viewed by society (Naidoo & Park, 2014, p. 9). Materials in a library collection that authentically illustrate culture and diversity allow children to see themselves in stories and appreciate their own and other cultures (Naidoo, 2014, p. 3). Conversely, if cultural depictions in stories are either entirely absent, or continually stereotyped, the effect on a child’s understanding of their own culture and others can be negative (Naidoo, 2014, p. 3).

I became aware of this effect during the planning process and tried to select books that were general celebrations of belonging and difference. Handa’s Surprise could potentially be viewed as a stereotypical view of culture, as the main character is a young girl in a small village in Kenya carrying fruits in a basket on her head. However, it is a sensational story to read aloud, and I felt that read in conjunction with the other stories there are multiple narratives and experiences of culture being portrayed.

It is evident that intelligently selected diverse stories must form part of programs such as Storytime. However, it can be counterintuitive to only include these resources during events such as Harmony Week. Much of the literature concurs that restricting racially diverse resources to special events sends the message that minority cultures are only of value at particular times of the year (Krueger & Lee, 2016, p. 21; Naidoo, 2014, p. 6; Naidoo & Park, 2014, p. 18). It can also reinforce a romanticised view of other cultures without taking any steps to address ingrained issues such as racism (Pillay, 2019). These crucial points formed the most important part of my learning throughout this activity and will affect planning of programs going forward.

I have realised that stories with diverse protagonists and experiences, and resources depicting a range of characters need to be present regularly, with every Storytime theme if possible. This point applies to racial diversity and other types of diversity such as gender and disability. Demonstrating common ground and celebrating differences in a normalised way every week enables children and families to understand, accept and celebrate global communities (Naidoo & Park, 2014, p. 24). If special programs are to be made, the relevant communities should be consulted in the planning process for the highest chances of success (Naidoo & Park, 2014, p. 20).

Listen to Chimamanda Adichie’s amazing podcast The Danger of a Single Story for insight into the misunderstandings that can occur when only one stereotypical view of a culture is regularly encountered.

References

About harmony week. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.harmony.gov.au/about

Adichie, C. N. (2009, July). The danger of a single story [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story?language=en

Browne, E. (1997). Handa’s surprise. London: Walker Books.

Fox, M. (2006). Whoever you are. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

Krueger, A. H., & Lee, T. (2016). Storytime-palooza! Racial diversity and inclusion in storytime. Children & Libraries, 14(3), 18-22. doi:10.5860/cal.14n3

Manushkin, F. (2018). Happy in our skin. Somerville: Candlewick Press.

Naidoo, J. C. (2014). The importance of diversity in library programs and material collections for children [White paper]. Retrieved from American Library Association website: http://www.ala.org/alsc/publications-resources/white-papers/importance-diversity

Naidoo, J. C., & Park, S. (2014). Diversity programming for digital youth: Promoting cultural competence in the children’s library. Retrieved from ProQuest Ebook Central.

Pillay, V. (2019, March 21). Going beyond harmony day [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://mindtribes.com.au/going-beyond-harmony-day/

(UC Berkeley Events, 2007)

I have selected five pieces of advice given by the keynote speaker, Meredith Farkas, in this video which would be particularly relevant in helping the public library I am employed at embrace Library 2.0. These are:

• Question EVERYTHING that we do currently.
• Put our information where our users are.
• Place radical trust in our users to help create the future.
• Avoid technolust.
• Allow adequate time for web 2.0 learning and responsibilities.

(UC Berkeley Events, 2007).

Questioning everything we do is important for embracing library 2.0. This process encourages innovation in how we approach all tasks and procedures, and helps identify those that are irrelevant or need updating in order to create a more connected, collaborative environment.

We know who a lot of our physical customers are, and why and how they use the library, but know much less about our online community. Therefore we really need to establish where our community go for information and ensure we have a presence there, as so many people do not think of the public library as a highly relevant information tool. We do have a Facebook profile which is regularly updated, particularly during special events. and asks for community input frequently through games and questions.  After some research for this subject I have realised that Twitter could be beneficial to my library, as when used mindfully can engage the community, start a dialogue and create responses and action from that community (Lovejoy & Saxton, 2012, p. 352).

It is OK to allow feedback and give control (to a certain extent!) to the public. Negative comments and inappropriate content can be moderated. Placing radical trust in our community involves understanding that people like commenting and contributing. We have to be more open and trust our users to help improve our services.

Having a team of people comprised of all levels of staff to evaluate new technology and asking for community input could be ways of ensuring chosen technologies will benefit our library and our users.

Once a web 2.0 tool has been implemented, appropriate time must be given to staff to use the tool effectively, it cannot be squeezed in around other duties if it is to have the desired library 2.0 results.

References

Lovejoy, K., & Saxton, G. D. (2012). Information, community and action: How nonprofit organizations  use social media. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 17 (3), 337-353. doi: 10.1111/j.1083-  6101.2012.01576.x

UC Berkeley Events. (2007). Building academic library 2.0 [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_uOKFhoznI