Core Competency C

I live in the largest metropolitan area of an interior western state which is over 90 percent white. Although the demographics of the metropolitan area are relatively similar to the state as a whole, the area has a higher proportion of minority groups, such as African-Americans, Hispanics (which make up roughly 12 percent of the population in the area), and Asians. In addition, because there is a refugee resettlement office in the area, large populations of refugees from countries such as Somalia, Iraq, Burma and Afghanistan live in the area. However, diversity is not only racial/ethnic in nature. The area has significant divergences as far as wealth is concerned. In fact the library I am using to write this competency statement, the [name removed], serves an area where half the population makes at least 100,000 USD/year and the other half makes less than 15,000 per year (although that is a broad generalization). Trailer parks exist next to golf courses and gated communities. The point I am trying to make is that even in areas where the population may seem homogenous, one can still see (whether from anecdotal observation or from a more applied analysis employing numerical data) significant characteristics in a population that makes it diverse. And these diverse populations have different needs. In terms of language, some people may have limited English proficiency, some may speak English well, but have lower levels of literacy, some may speak English well and are highly literate, but have visual impairments. Some senior citizens might be homebound, some might be grandparents raising grandchildren, and other senior citizens may have a medical issue they need assistance with. People may have disabilities, be homeless, may be physically or mentally ill, or may be unemployed. Some people have computers at home, some people do not have a computer at home, some people do not have a computer at home, and some do have a computer at home, but do not know how to use it. Each person in a library’s community has different information needs, and the library has a responsibility to provide relevant information to every person in the community. By providing relevant information tailored to each client’s needs, a librarian can be more successful in upholding the ideals embodied in the Library Bill of Rights, the Freedom to Read Statement, and the Code of Ethics of the American Library Association. But more importantly, more people in the community will see the usefulness of the library, including community stakeholders. I performed just such a walkaround as part of the requirements for a paper I wrote for INFO 266, which I will present as my first piece of evidence of proficiency in this competency. The assignment required me to walk through a local community and then write a paper based on my observations. Part of the impact of this assignment was to draw me, as an aspiring librarian, out of my comfort bubble, to observe how people actually live and how the community has changed over time (or how people in the community perceive that the community is changing). The second piece of evidence I will submit is a library diversity assessment/visit I did for INFO 275. In this assessment, I looked at census data about Garden City, Idaho, reviewed the mission statement, took an in-depth view of the demographics of Garden City, Idaho, looked at how the demographics of the area affected services, whether collections reflected the diversity of the library’s service community, and whether the facility is designed for use by diverse communities, including the physically disabled. At the end of the document, I made various recommendations about improving the services to meet the needs of the population, including a meeting space separate from those used by city staff in the city hall building in which the library is located. The third piece of evidence I will submit is a Powerpoint presentation I completed for LIBR 200, in which I described the issues facing people who have “invisible disabilities” which includes individuals with Asperger Syndrome, autism, learning disabilities, and mental illness, and discussed possible interventions which libraries might take to better serve the needs of this population. This is important, because although the patrons may have a disability, the librarian may not notice it in the same manner they would a mobility disability (which is more apparent), and may not understand the needs of a library patron with “invisible disabilities.”

I have completed a course, INFO 275, which dealt with library services to diverse populations, in which I completed 5 diversity exercises. Many of the discussion forum posts I wrote about reviewed specific library policies, such as workplace diversity policies, to see if they took a proactive approach to diversity or simply expressed enthusiasm without commitment. I also completed a final project where I created an “Information Resource Kiosk” for Hispanic Single mothers, where I specifically discussed their information needs, and then created an annotated bibliography of possible information resources available to assist them. I also completed a paper for LIBR 200, in which I discussed the nature of invisible disabilities, and how libraries must assist this group if they are to uphold both the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and stand as a model of inclusivity. I also have written extensively on grandparents raising grandchildren as a demographic group which public libraries should create programming and instructional classes for. I wrote one paper on the general characteristics of this group, and I created two projects where I created specific courses tailored to the needs of grandparents raising grandchildren. I also have wrote a research paper, with a literature review dealing with how to gauge the awareness of grandparents raising grandchildren regarding social services in the local area. I One project dealt with teaching grandparents raising grandparents how to conduct searches for health information on Medline, and the other taught this group how to create a resume using the resume creator tool on Indeed.com.