‘What we should strive for is Britishness’: An attitudinal investigation of ethnic diversity and the public library

Abstract

This paper considers the role of the public library in ameliorating relations between communities, and the appropriateness of a multicultural or assimilationist approach via which to deliver socially inclusive services.Qualitative findings from two inductive studies, each of which focused on different aspects of the capacity of public library staff to deliver culturally inclusive services, are analyzed in relation to concepts such as social capital, cultural and ethnic diversity, institutional racism and cultural awareness. The paper focuses on staffing issues and on . It is concluded that recruitment strategies are slow to address the homogeneity of the current library workforce, and that a revised approach to recruitment and subsequent training should be made. Furthermore, it is suggested that a community-wide exposure to materials about other ethnic cultures can contribute to the reduction of existing social fragmentation.

Putting Research into Practice: An Exploration of Sheffield iSchool Approaches to Connecting Research with Practice

“…For example, publishing in more practitioner-orientated journals-such as Aslib Proceedings (Birdi, 2011;Chen et al, 2011;Cox & Blake, 2011;Gumulak & Webber, 2011;Idrees et al, 2011); Health Information and Libraries Journal (Brewster & Sen, 2010); Journal of Librarianship and Information Science (Birdi et al, 2009(Birdi et al, , 2012Polding et al, 2008);…”

“…Four articles described projects funded by the U.K. Arts & Humanities Research Council (Birdi, Wilson, & Mansoor, 2012;Birdi, Wilson, & Tso, 2009;Gorrell, Eaglestone, Ford, Holdridge, & Madden, 2009;Gorrell, Ford, Eaglestone, Holdridge, & Madden, 2011), and two articles acknowledged support from the University of Sheffield's Centre for Inquiry-based Learning in the Arts and Social Sciences (Cox, Levy, Stordy, & Webber, 2008;Webber, 2010). Other funding organizations acknowledged include the European Union (Cox, Clough, & Siersdorfer, 2011); the Joint Information Systems Committee of the U.K. higher-education funding councils (Levy, Aiyegabyo, & Little, 2009); the U.K.…”

A Comparative Study of Public Libraries in Edinburgh and Copenhagen and Their Potential for Social Capital Creation

“…Case studies have often been employed to investigate social capital in libraries (Elbeshausen and Skov 2004;Gong, Japzon, and Chen 2008;Audunson, Essmat, and Aabø 2011;Birdi, Wilson, and Mansoor 2011;Vårheim 2011;Griffis and Johnson 2013;Svendsen 2013). The case study allows a detailed qualitative investigation of a phenomenon and has the potential to address real issues and be of benefit to the community in which it is based.…”

“…Birdi, Wilson, and Mansoor (2011) attribute this to the library's role as a service for all members of society. As social capital refers to intangible aspects of society such as trust and community cohesion, it can be difficult to measure.…”

“…Birdi, Wilson, and Mansoor (2011) recently examined ethnic diversity and the public library in the UK, with reference to social capital. The merits of both assimilation, where cultures are absorbed into mainstream culture, and multiculturalism, where distinct cultures co-exist, are discussed.…”