Community engagement, cultural competence and two Australian public libraries and Indigenous communities

Abstract

Two examples of community engagement in Australian public libraries, drawn from the author’s experience, are analysed using Sung and Hepworth’s (2013) community engagement model for public libraries and Overall’s (2009) definition of cultural competence in a library and information science framework. The examples are examined for the community engagement characteristics identified by Sung and Hepworth; each is also considered for cultural competence, using the domains which Overall posits are the sites where this competence occurs or is developed. A virtuous circle of community engagement is extrapolated from the second example. ‘Hierarchical equivalence’ between organizations, a group’s proportional presence in a population and the nature of each group’s aims, are suggested as further factors in sustainable community engagement. That culture is an asset on which communities draw to engage with libraries and the broader community, and that communities will respond to engagement approaches if they offer the possibility of meeting community aspirations, is evident in both examples.

What are the options for library and information studies education reform in addressing racial inequity in the library profession in the UK?

“…Specialist groups such as the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), whose competences strongly focus on diversity and inclusion (ALSC, 2020), contribute to ‘strengthen the social justice fabric of the profession’ (Moreillon, 2015: 212). There are many important lessons in the US experience which have already been discussed in the context of Australia (Blackburn, 2014, 2017, 2020) and adopting cultural humility (Hurley et al, 2019) may strengthen our resolve in taking this difficult path.…”

“…There are many important lessons in the US experience which have already been discussed in the context of Australia (Blackburn, 2014(Blackburn, , 2017(Blackburn, , 2020 and adopting cultural humility (Hurley et al, 2019) may strengthen our resolve in taking this difficult path.…”

The values of public libraries: a systematic review of empirical studies of stakeholder perceptions

“…It has been demonstrated that explorative studies primarily are concerned with intrinsic values, as introduced and discussed in this paper. This implies that values of public libraries generally are perceived as an overall asset to the community, whether this is understood in instrumental and monetary means (Miller, 2017; Aabø, 2009) or in societal concepts of values (Blackburn, 2017; Stenstrom et al 2019).…”

“…The study specifically focuses on what the implications of potential differences in rural community development are and it found that small rural libraries sustained their economic contribution to the community. Blackburn (2017) discusses two examples of community engagement in Australian public libraries by the use of practitioner research methods and finds that the community is vigour and is willing to engage actively with public libraries. These findings acknowledge the potential for public libraries to act as more than just an economic impact factor but as an institution that can provide both instrumental impact and intrinsic added value to society.…”