Why is diversity important in Libraries?
The obvious argument would be that as the communities served by public and academic libraries become more diverse, our institutions must reflect that diversity in their staff and resources. As per the latest statistics, we are talking about 7.5 million people born overseas living in Australia1, with 22.3% of the Australian population using a language other than English at home 2. However, the library workforce has not necessarily kept up with the changing demographics.
Promoting representation is consistent with library industry values around inclusion. As librarians often hold highly visible roles in the community (academic and public librarians), they can model workplace diversity and positive, respectful cross-cultural workplace relationships. This is just as important for white Australians to practice as for anyone else.
Diversity can positively influence the behavior of the social majority within an organisation, leading to improved, more accurate group thinking and enhanced performances. Increased diversity can also help us recognise our own biases that might stop us from getting the information we need and making the right decisions. Therefore, we need to strive for genuine and meaningful diversity, not just tokenism3.
In a workforce diversity trend report conducted by the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) in 2019, the representation of individuals born overseas and speaking languages other than English (LOTE) at home was analysed within the GLAMR (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, Museums and Records) workforce. The report revealed an over-representation of people born in Europe and the Americas, while individuals born in Asia and Africa were under-represented. To address these imbalances, one of the recommendations was to actively recruit individuals born in Asia and/or from LOTE households with Asian first languages.
When hiring for diversity, libraries can prioritise assessing their own workplace culture and anti-racism policies, instead of directly focusing on ‘culture fit.’ This includes effectively managing a diverse workforce, planning for growth, and tracking progress towards good practice goals.
Why does CAVAL have an opinion on it? CAVAL is uniquely positioned to discuss diversity in Australian Libraries due to our own diverse staff, many of whom were born overseas or are fluent in multiple languages. We procure, catalogue, and sell books from all over the world, relying heavily on the language skills of our workforce. In addition to their language abilities, our staff bring a variety of experiences, attitudes, voices, viewpoints, and culinary traditions, making us a richly diverse melting pot within the sector.
Note: We’re aware that there is much more to delve into when it comes to diversity and inclusion in libraries, so we will be tackling this topic in future blog posts. We will explore ways to achieve workforce diversification and highlight libraries that are already implementing these strategies. If you have a story to share, please contact us!
References:
1 Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2022). Australia’s Population by Country of Birth. https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/population/australias-population-country-birth/latest-release
2 .idcommunity. (2021). Australia Language used at home. https://profile.id.com.au/australia/language?BMID=50
3 https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-can-australian-libraries-better-represent-ideas-from-bachmann/
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