INF330 | Professional Development Blog – Diversity | 4 min read

Storytime has always been incredibly popular amongst children and caregivers alike, however, purposes can conflict when language barriers become deterrents and inadvertent bias (McKenzie & Stooke, 2012). Additionally, virtual story has become increasingly popular since Covid-19’s pandemic, prior to the outbreak only 12% of libraries across Australia were offering online programming. Consequently, this number has increased to an impressive 86% (State Library New South Wales, 2021). During these desperate times, one library is making a real difference and meeting the divide through diversity and online services: Brooklyn Public Library.

Located in New York City, Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) is the sixth largest public library system in the United States and offered over seventy-two thousand free programs last year with over one million attendees (Brooklyn Public Library, 2021). situated in a primarily immigrant neighbourhood, BPL began to offer bilingual Storytime in Spanish which was a runaway success with attendees. However, BPL was committed to their diverse community and with resources from funders, BPL is now able to offer Storytime’s in an astonishing nine languages (Payne & Ralli, 2017).

Additionally, the ability to have a multilinguistic library teams allows families to engage in library services they may have not be familiar with before, this therefore increases the libraries outreach and exposes patrons to services that bridge the diversity gap (McKenzie & Stooke, 2012). Furthermore, programs like BPL multilinguistic Storytime provides linguistic support to families who speak non-native languages at home and encourages the love for language outside of the library (Fancis & Yan, 2016).

Despite this, some families fear that teaching children more than one language may result in ‘language confusion’, the state in which a child becomes confused whilst learning more than one language which may inhibit development. However, this is simply untrue as children are extremely capable of picking up more then one language with enough exposure and interaction, children can differentiate multiple languages and understand simple words early on in development (Byers-Heinlein & Lew-Williams, 2013). Exposing children to multiple languages provides important foundational skills that benefits a child’s development and vocabulary. Furthermore, it also provides culturally and linguistically relevant songs and stories that further support ethnic identity (Payne & Ralli, 2017).

Supporting ethnic identity is crucial during a child’s growth as a positive ethic identity has been associated with better health and greater sense of self-worth. Consequently, positive ethnic identity leads to better academic adjustment, positive peer networks and avoidance of addictive suppressants and behaviours (Coutinho, 2019). Additionally, representation of diversity in children’s books is extremely poor and inadvertently prejudiced, this ultimately sends a distasteful message to our youth and provides poor role models that diminish ethic identity. According to a recent 2018 statistic 50% of characters in children’s books are white and 27% are animals, whilst the remainder are 10% African American, 7% Asian Pacific, 5% Latinx and the discerning final 1% is American Indian (Dahlen, 2019).

These statistics are both unfair and unjust, BPL can expose children to supportive characters and stories that support ethnic identity and lay the foundational steppingstones for increased self-worth and confidence. Accessibility to services online also further increase library outreach and allows patrons to access services that may not been available due to various circumstances. BPL multilinguistic children’s programs provide services that encourage and celebrate the love for diverse cultures and builds the foundations for a brighter more inclusive society.

References

Byers-Heinlein, K,. Lew-Williams, C. (2013). Bilingualism in the early years what the science says. PubMed Central. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6168212/

Brooklyn Public Library. (2021). About Brooklyn Public Library. Brooklyn Public Library.

Coutinho, M.T. (2019), ethnic identity in our global society supporting youth physical and mental health and adjustment. The Brown University Child and Adolescent Behaviour Letter, 35 1-7. https://doi-org.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/10.1002/cbl.30420

Dahlen, S. P. (2019). Picture this diversity in children’s books 2018 infographic. Sarah Park Dahlen, Ph.D. http://sarahpark.com/

Francis, J & Yan, M. (2016). Bridging the gaps access to formal support services among young African immigrants and refugees in metro Vancouver. Canadian Ethnic Studies, 48(1), 77-100. 10.1353/ces.2016.0010

McKenzie, P. J., & Stooke, R. K. (2012). Making a Difference. Children & Libraries the Journal of the Association for Library Service to Children, 10(2), 47-52.

Payne, R,. & Ralli, J. (2017). Beyond bilingual making storytime inviting to all English language learners. School Library Journal. https://www.slj.com/?detailStory=beyond-bilingual-making-storytime-inviting-to-all-english-language-learners

State Library New South Wales. (2020). Libraries take programs online during COVID-19. State Library New South Wales. https://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/public-library-services/news/libraries-take-programs-online-during-covid-19