ALA Resources

ALA Resources

Within the American Library Association (ALA), there are several resources available for libraries that are wanting to implement new multicultural, multilingual collections.

• ALA Office for Diversity, Literacy and Outreach Services (ODLOS). In their mission statement, the ODLOS says that they work to support “library and information science workers in creating responsible and all-inclusive spaces that serve and represent the entire community”. (Office for Diversity, Literacy and Outreach Services, 2019) This covers diversity both in the library workforce and the community that the library serves.
  • “Project Welcome”, which is a partnership between ODLOS and the Mortenson Center for International Library Programs at the University of Illinois, is designed to teach library staff how to meet the information needs of refugees and asylum seekers.
• “How to Serve the World @ your library”, which is designed to help libraries start and improve English-language learning programs for adults at the public library. The toolkit includes a list of ten things recommended for serving multilingual library users, as well as case studies of successful programs and other resources. This toolkit is available as a printable PDF, and serves predominately as a starting point for beginning to research ESL programs in libraries in order to develop a new program that fits the needs of a specific group of library users.
• “New Immigrants”, which is a compiling of a variety of materials for serving new immigrants in a library setting, to include ALA Policy statements, reports, books, and more.
• The 2015 report published by the Ethnic and Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table, titled “Guidelines for Outreach to Immigrant Populations”. This document serves as another beneficial tool for establishing programs, collections, and mission statements as libraries strive to serve new immigrant populations.

ALA Affiliation Groups

ALA affiliation groups are another great resource for libraries seeking to implement new collections. These groups have their own resources and recommended lists of books, as well as books that they do not recommend that may contain harmful racial stereotypes. Examining a current collection of titles within a library may be the ideal place to begin when wanting a new minority group to feel welcome to the library and community. Library staff may also find it beneficial to reach out to peers of the same national and lingual origin of the community members they wish to serve. This would provide greater perspective on the minority experience, as well as peers professional suggestions. There is, however, limitations with going this route. For one thing, the multicultural, multilingual group may not be represented even within the ranks of ALA, especially if the country of origin is Eastern European or from the continent of Africa.

The following are the ALA affiliated groups:

• Chinese American Librarians Association
• The National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking (REFORMA)
• Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association
• American Indian Library Association
• Black Caucus of the American Library Association