Written by benhimmelfarb on Tue, 03/08/2016 – 12:27
What forces affect who works at public libraries? What keeps certain classes, races, genders, or other groups of people from working at libraries in numbers that reflect the make up of society-at-large? Especialy when there are libraries located in their communities that do not employ locals? What are truly effective ways to bring diversity to the professional and administrative ranks?
Finding a solution to the socio-economic, racial, or gender discrepancies between the users of libraries and staff may include broadening (or loosening) the definition of a library professional. Educational and employment opportunities must be equalized as well, which means addressing issues of systemic discrimination. A basic step would be examining why library workers are not always a representative reflection of the communities they serve. For instance, why is a teen library space at an urban library that serves middle- and working-class people of color staffed by people with dramatically different economic and racial backgrounds? One answer seems obvious–certain people are raised with a sense of ownership over the library in their community and are privileged with educational opportunities. Other answers may be less obvious–perhaps public libraries mean something different to suburban and urban communities. A research fellow could develop ways of researching this issue and modeling solutions for long-term systemic change that would reach beyond a specific research site. Answering these questions should not be undertaken in a purely academic setting–it would benefit all to do this research in public, with input from the communities and people affected.