Multiculturalism in Libraries

A diverse nation from its beginnings, the United States is increasingly faced with the challenge of absorbing new immigrant groups and creating a tolerance for a plurality of cultures. As agencies known to preserve cultural heritage, libraries and their collections must be truly representative of the pluralistic populations they serve. This book overviews cultural diversity in libraries and helps redefine the nature of public and academic libraries in a multicultural society.Throughout this volume, the authors note that librarians are searching for a more relevant cultural identity for their institutions by asking what the nature of librarianship is, what sort of a library do they work in, what sort of a library should they strive to create in the future, and what sort of a population does their library serve. To address these questions, this book provides an historical overview of the response of libraries to multiculturalism, education and research in multicultural librarianship, the impact of demographic trends on library patrons, and administrative concerns. Several case studies exemplify the discussion.

.,."offers an important historical, bibliographical, and factual summary of a broad range of issues, such as recruitment and selection of a diverse staff. The authors deal with both academic and public libraries largely through a thoughful analysis of the literature to date."-Wilson Library Bulletin, ?...offers an important historical, bibliographical, and factual summary of a broad range of issues, such as recruitment and selection of a diverse staff. The authors deal with both academic and public libraries largely through a thoughful analysis of the literature to date.?-Wilson Library Bulletin, ?Anyone interested in acquiring a better understanding of the importance of diversity to libraries and an overview of library efforts directed toward multiculturalism ought to read this book. It calls for, and rightly so, an intensification of our diversity efforts if libraries are to be responsive to the information needs of a diverse citizenry.?-Library Quarterly, ?Diversity is going to be the greatest challenge for libraries in the next century, but more books like this one, which seriously look at the many complicated issues, should smooth the way.?- RQ, ?I predict that this volume will keep the ball rolling towards a higher level of attention to diversity and more precisely, multiculturalism. I trust that my colleagues in the school library field will find this volume useful.?-Journal of Information, Communication and Library Science

ROSEMARY RUHIG Du MONT is Dean of the School of Library and Information Science at Kent State University./ She is the author of Reform and Reaction: The Big City Public Library in American Life (Greenwood Press, 1977) and numerous articles.LOIS BUTTLAR is Associate Professor in the School of Library and Information Science at Kent State University. She has authored several books and articles.WILLIAM CAYNON is an Associate Professor in the School of Library and Information Science at Kent State University. He is the author of several articles.