Today, the modern library has become much more than a simple space to check out and return books. As libraries have evolved to become community hubs, locations for research and relaxation, and the center of ever-increasing online networks, it is important to recognize that our reach extends far beyond the branches we work at. Libraries and other information centers are a part of a global network that connects individuals with an incredibly wide variety of norms, practices, and needs. With this mindset established, it is important to consider ways that our branches can cater to not only our local communities, but also be welcoming and considerate of those who come from other societies. In order to accomplish this, differences in cultural, economic, educational, and social well-being must be understood and supported, so those of all backgrounds can feel welcomed to the library.
When considering cultural differences, they can be as large as a language barrier, or as small as having different expectations for operating hours. Fortunately, the same communication skills that ensure an effective workplace can be utilized here to accommodate such individuals. At the most basic level, different language options should be included on the library website, so as to be able to communicate hours, programming events, and collection access in whatever language people speak natively. When considering programming itself, however, training must take place. Designated interpreters can facilitate events like storytimes (Shepherd, 2009), or staff themselves can utilize existing language skills. All of these are ways that the library can support cultural differences – but the onus is not only on the branch. If there are patrons that need special accommodations due to their cultural background, especially at programming events, requesting that those patrons reach out ahead of time gives the library time to adequately prepare resources that would otherwise not be kept on hand. Additionally, by setting up this expectation, patrons know that they will be accommodated, and it establishes a dialogue between the community and the library.
Economic differences are perhaps the most well-suited to be addressed by libraries. According to the American Library Association Code of Ethics, all libraries seek to provide freedom of information, access, and privacy (ALA Code of Ethics, n.d.). The first two tenets here are key to bridging the gaps that form with economic differences. At the public library, free resources reign. From printing (Technology FAQs, n.d.) to copying to park passes to the book collection, anyone can come in to utilize these offerings. Furthermore, many of these services do not even require the user to possess a library card! For those who do not have the funds to purchase books from retailers, or simply wish to save their money, the freedom of information provided by the library is essential to their information-gathering endeavors.
Regarding educational differences, libraries offer many services to surmount these differences. Patrons who read at different levels are all welcome at the library, but specific items in a branch’s collection may have been selected specifically for them. For example, in Contra Costa County, the Lite Reads collection was created for adults who might struggle with traditional titles. In these books, the subject matter deals with adult topics like starting one’s own business or murder mysteries, but the book uses simpler language to welcome English language learners (The Pet Sitter, n.d.). Additionally, outside of the collection, the services that the library offers can aid in bridging the gaps of educational differences. Project Second Chance is one such program, offering free English language lessons to adults who read or write at or below a 6th-grade level (Project Second Chance, n.d.). All of their sessions are confidential and free, ensuring that anyone can learn to read and write.
Finally, differences in social status can also be seen at the library. As anyone and everyone is welcome, this means that individuals experiencing homelessness will often spend their time at their local branch. Here, the most effective practices are those that encourage staff to treat these people like any other patron. Online trainings can offer ways that staff can make these patrons feel welcome, and adjust any behaviors that need correcting in a friendly and compassionate manner. Additionally, by keeping community resources up front and visible at the branch, those who need access to such programs will be able to utilize them.
The modern library has become a community hub, which means that it is designed to be open to everyone, and utilized for a myriad of purposes. In order to be supportive of cultural economic, educational, or social differences, there are many steps that can be taken. However, all of the methods we have discussed so far are all on the local level. In order to truly understand the global perspectives on how to enact effective information practices, we can look to large standards organizations such as the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions. The IFLA aggregates and publishes the “current consensus on rules, principles, guidelines, best practice or models for a particular activity or service” (Current IFLA Standards, n.d.). As such, it offers advice on everything from public internet access to providing service to Braille users to encoding standards to offering easy-to-read materials. By examining and implementing the information that organizations such as the IFLA have aggregated, we can ensure that local libraries match up to global standards.
This competency represented one of the areas that I saw myself grow the most in throughout my MLIS degree. Both my coursework and my career have helped me to develop further in my understanding of global perspectives of information practices, and consider additional ways to support cultural, economic, educational, and social well-being. Within my coursework, I have worked with students from many different backgrounds and cultural backgrounds. Still, I have been able to collaborate with them all, and cooperate to produce works that reflect our varied avenues of expertise. Additionally, I feel that specific classes, such as INFO 200: Information Communities, have helped me to better understand the various ways that information practices can be attuned to support specific communities.
In terms of my career, I have also taken steps to support cultural, economic, educational, and social well-being. I have taken the Spanish-language competency test, and become officially certified as bilingual by the county. This way I can better accommodate Spanish-speaking individuals at my branch, and offer service in the language of their choice. In terms of educational well-being, I have been able to recommend the services of the aforementioned Project Second Chance to adults who have struggled with English, as well as offer them titles that aid in their learning. Finally, by planning programs that are free to all, and offering free community resources, I have been able to improve the economic and social well-being of patrons in my community. I know that my efforts thus far have been effective, but in the future, I intend to continue looking for ways to improve the offerings of my library, and ensure that my programs and events outlive my time at the branch.
For this competency, I found three artifacts that I believe demonstrate my ability to understand global perspectives and support the educational, economic, social, and cultural well-being of those who visit my libraries. The first of these focuses on the socio-cultural aspects of well-being, and is a discussion post from INFO 210: Reference Information Services. In this post, I argue for the benefits of diversity in libraries – and how this makes cross-cultural correspondence possible. Without the fostering of a diverse library workspace, we can end up alienating patrons, especially on cultural or social grounds. The second artifact I collected here is an Annotated Bibliography I completed for INFO 250: Instructional Design for Information Professionals. This bibliography had me read a wide variety of papers on educational theory, design thinking, and coteaching – all of which imparted to me a better understanding of how educational theories work, are applied, and how I can implement them into my own library learning experiences. Finally, the Comprehensive Literature Review that my groupmates and I completed in INFO 285: Applied Research Methods fulfills the global perspectives aspect of this competency. The digital humanities are an incredibly fast-growing field, and through studying them, we can achieve a better understanding of how we interact with each other in the modern digital era. This document goes into detail on how the digital humanities evolved as a field, how they connect libraries and other information repositories worldwide.
Cross-cultural correspondence is essential to ensuring that libraries are welcoming to all. As such, in this discussion post, I discuss why diversity is so important to libraries. Without embracing the differences between various cultures, and encouraging representation in our branches, our libraries are doomed to be exclusionary. We can achieve cultural and social representation in several ways at libraries: through our collection, ensuring that our books do not portray only white male characters; through our staff, by practicing diverse hiring practices and allowing our communities to see ‘people like them’ working at libraries; and through our programming, by taking into account the cultural, social, educational, and economic needs of the communities that we are a part of. None of this is possible without recognizing the importance of diversity, and incorporating it into our libraries.
This annotated bibliography had four primary areas that we were tasked to research: Educational Theory and Practice, Inquiry and Design Thinking, Technology, and Collaboration and Coteaching. Each of these areas expanded my understanding of how to attune the information practices at my workplace to the educational well-being of my community. The documents on Educational Theory and Practice afforded me views of how to effectively communicate with teenagers, compared goal-based and constructivist learning schemes, and explored how video games could be utilized as learning tools. Some of the most interesting Inquiry and Design Thinking papers discussed what fiction is perceived to be, and what qualities a fictional work is expected to have. Technology discussed how new developments that could be used in libraries to great effect, such as advances in digitization and the expansion of an ‘internet of things.’ Finally, Collaboration and Coteaching discussed ways that librarians and teachers could design effective learning programs in concert. All of these documents helped me to build a better understanding of how to support the educational well-being of my patrons and community as a whole.
In this CLR, my groupmates and I discussed the past, present, and future of the field of digital humanities. This field of study examines how global collaboration, information-gathering, and storage occurs. In the past, we saw DH develop with the rise of online catalogs, transform with the COVID-19 pandemic forcing nearly all in-person interactions online, and continue to develop with the incorporation of AI technologies. All of these changes help us to understand just how interconnected humanity is around the globe, thereby allowing us to be aware of the differences between us, as well as the myriad of similarities. This ties directly into this competency, as we cannot easily support the cultural and social well-being of others if we are unfamiliar with their life experiences or societal practices. DH supports social and cultural well-being, and allows us to better understand how we interact with each other in the modern digital era.
This competency was the furthest-reaching that I have explored so far, and has the greatest potential for my work in the future. By ensuring that I seek to welcome individuals of all economic, educational, social, and cultural backgrounds, I will need to keep up to date with the standards compiled by organizations such as the IFLA, as well as ensure that practices close to come embrace diversity and the well-being of those in my community.
However, by ensuring that I offer a wide variety of community resources, have staff on hand who can accommodate patrons in multiple languages, offer free access to library services and items, and collaborate with schools and independent educators, I will be able to promote well-being in my communities along each of the four axes discussed in this competency.
ALA Code of Ethics. (n.d.). Retrieved February 9, 2025, from https://www.ala.org/tools/ethics
Current IFLA Standards. (n.d.). IFLA. Retrieved April 2, 2025, from https://www.ifla.org/g/standards/current-ifla-standards/
Project Second Chance. (n.d.) Contra Costa County Library. Retrieved April 2, 2025 from https://ccclib.org/psc/
Shepherd, S. (2009). Storytime: Providing Library Services across Language Barriers - Nhulunbuy Community Library and Yirrkala Storytime. In Incite (Sydney) (Vol. 30, Issue 4, pp. 26–27). Australian Library and Information Association.
Technology FAQs. (n.d.). Contra Costa County Library. Retrieved April 2, 2025 from https://ccclib.org/faq/technology/#printing-scanning
The Pet Sitter. (n.d.) Contra Costa County Library. Retrieved April 2, 2025 from https://ccclib.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S154C1961008