Competency Description and Scope:

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the overall racial and ethnic diversity of the country has increased since 2010. The measures used to conduct this research were comparisons between the 2010 Census and the 2020 Census. For research and policymaking purposes, the Census is invaluable due to its comprehensive coverage of both population size and composition. Community, neighborhood, and family histories are well-documented because of the abundance of data we have on things like population, immigration, and citizenship status, as well as ancestors' names, connections, and birth years. For decision-making, planning, and community and economic development, libraries and information organizations may access and interpret Census data to change their perspective on current or future programs or services. Generally, libraries use the data to learn more about the many communities they serve and to ensure that their activities and services are designed to meet their patrons' needs and interests. In order to protect cultural, religious, racial, and other identities using international law as a standard, LIS professionals need to be culturally competent (Hirsh, 2022) and see the world through a "humanistic lens" (Cooke, 2016). I think that becoming conscious of the fact that we are all citizens of the world is the first step toward meeting the demanding requirements of this role. Then, as our world grows more multicultural and technology improves our capacity to connect worldwide, we must examine economic, educational, and social well-being by analyzing the degree to which institutions are genuinely implementing culturally competent practices and policies.

Cultural competency

Cultural competency is the ability for professionals and organizations to work well in cross-cultural situations. This approach, which aspires to provide a warm, safe space that is inclusive of everyone, depends not only on creating educational, joyful, or pleasurable community activities but also on actually allowing visitors from all over the world to come to the library. Institutions in the fields of medicine, social services, psychology, education, and libraries have embraced this intercultural competency (SAMHSA, 2014). Librarians, who are information professionals employed in cultural and educational organizations, are in a unique position to get acquainted with the customs and language of the community they support (Hirsh et al., 2022). This may include compiling a library collection that represents the diversity of the local community and beyond. "A diverse collection should contain content by and about a wide array of people and cultures to authentically reflect a variety of ideas, information, stories, and experiences" (ALA, 2006). Additionally, the librarian must do everything necessary to establish a friendly environment and remove any information obstacles. Physical, linguistic, psychological, and economical barriers all fall under this category. In its 2019 Global Report, the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) stressed the importance of effectively connecting global and local actions by acknowledging regional differences and needs, which will be important to our future efforts to bring the library field together to solve common problems. At the organizational level, these values may be ingrained in a library's strategic plan, mission, vision, and value statements, as well as organizational policies, with the role of leadership being to educate library staff on these skills and encourage self-growth and life-long learning.

Economic Development

According to Ruth Barefoot (Hirsh, 2018), in order for organizational revolutions to occur, a spark is necessary for the growth of both the economy and education. She cites the global economy, political uncertainty, technological development, and demographic shifts as examples of such elements. Globalization is thus a major cause of change as it compels information centers to keep up-to-date and focused on meeting user expectations from a global viewpoint. Information centers and libraries must work with other information facilities and libraries to put in place practices, rules, and procedures that will help global efforts. Some examples of practices or standards are cybersecurity, artifact loans, data integrity, and data protection, all of which could help make it easier for people all over the world to access information. Metadata practices across platforms (described in competency G) are my favorite example of global development because they show how libraries and information institutions all over the world work together. Global users may access information that they would not otherwise be able to find.

The Benefits of Global Social Well-Being and Education

The last topic I want to talk about is social welfare and how it helps all communities. Local library users may not have access to certain items or services where they are situated; therefore, inviting adjacent states or nations to access their collection or information has a positive impact. U.S. libraries have their own ILL procedures for a wider range of circulation. Then, libraries have also been expanding their online catalogs or digitization collections for people outside the nation. Libraries and information centers often provide a wide variety of courses and activities, such as language instruction, financial literacy training, citizenship preparation, practice examinations for university admissions, and more. These opportunities to further one's education may be made available all over the world, and they have the potential to enhance both a person's employability and their skill set. More individuals from underrepresented groups might use the library if opportunities to learn about various cultures were advertised and taken advantage of. It is essential to acknowledge global connections between libraries and information centers as a symbol of diversity and inclusiveness.

Importance to the Profession:

We interact with people from many different backgrounds, cultures, socioeconomic levels, and educational tiers, even if there are no plans to expand our work outside the local community or the U.S. If we can learn how information professionals may fulfill their various needs, we will be better able to provide for them with services and programs. As a member of El Camino College's hiring committee, I saw firsthand how having a range of viewpoints fosters a more collaborative and supportive work environment. Since I am a member of a historically underrepresented group, I find this proficiency in global viewpoints, international standards, and intercultural-intergroup communication skills for information workers to be very important. The librarian's involvement is not enough; the community must also see itself reflected in the library staff. Often, I was the only student of color in my English classrooms, and I felt my culture did not get a fair voice or perspective. Library and organizational development consultant Kikanza Nuri-Robins (Engseth, 2018) says that culturally competent librarians must want to learn about other people, be aware of all kinds of diversity, be genuinely interested in people from different backgrounds, and be willing and able to change the culture of the organization. When we talk of cultural competency, we usually mean how well we can grasp concepts with which we are unfamiliar. This is why cultural competence is so important in LIS, and specifically in public and academic libraries, where librarians interact directly with patrons who are frequently from different cultures.

Preparation to Understand Competency O

Culture, in the most inclusive and all-encompassing definition of the term, refers to the ways in which humans organize and make sense of the world in which they live. The word "culture" refers to a broad category of human social behavior that includes a lot of different things, such as a group's traditions, values, beliefs, and ways of doing things. Invisible diversities (religion, class, the place in which we reside, etc.) are often overlooked when establishing efficient policies since they are typically not observable by sight. "Libraries and their staffs must be ready, willing, and able to look at themselves in order to embrace and celebrate the diversity of their users," said Nicole Cooke (2016) on library services. To better accommodate library users and their communities, librarians should collaborate with representatives of culturally diverse immigrant communities to develop and implement resources, collections, programs, and other services that highlight these groups' value, contributions, and perspectives to the larger community. In addition to this, ALA (2006) said that library employees have a duty to pick, maintain, and promote access to content by diverse authors and producers that matches the needs, interests, and talents of as many people as possible. With globalization and internationalization sweeping the globe, many information firms should integrate intercultural and intergroup competency training as a strategic priority in their global views and international practices. A library's strategic plan, goal, vision, and value statements, as well as its policies, may all serve as organizational expressions of these principles.