Library Services for Multicultural Patrons : Strategies to Encourage Library Use

Increasingly, libraries are struggling to deal with a growing diversity in the cultural background of their patrons. Problems arising from this cultural diversity afflict all library types―school, public and academic. Library Services for Multicultural Patrons is by and for all libraries that are striving to provide multicultural services to match the growing diversity in the cultural background of patrons.

The book is designed to offer helpful tips and practical advice to academic, public, and school librarians who want to better serve the multicultural groups in their communities. The contributors to the book are themselves practicing librarians and they share creative ideas for welcoming multicultural patrons into libraries and strategies for serving them more effectively. Librarians will find in these chapters tried and true tips and techniques for marketing and promotion, improving reference services for speakers of English as a second language, and enhancing programming that they can easily implement in their own libraries and communities.

The chapters are divided into the following categories for ease of access: 1) Getting Organized and Finding Partners, 2) Reaching Students, 3) Community Connections, 4) Applying Technology, 6) Outreach Initiatives, 6) Programming and Events, and 7) Reference Services.

Librarians of all types will be pleased to discover easy-to-implement suggestions for collaborative efforts, many rich and diverse programming ideas, strategies for improving reference services and library instruction to speakers of English as a second language, marketing and promotional tips designed to welcome multicultural patrons into the library, and much more.

Carol Smallwood has worked as a public library systems administrator and consultant, and in school, academic, and special libraries. She has authored, co-authored, edited, and co-edited several books, including Librarians as Community Partners: An Outreach Handbook (2010), How to Thrive as a Solo Librarian (Scarecrow, 2011), and Preserving Local Writers, Genealogy, Photographs, Newspapers, and Related Materials (Scarecrow, 2012). Her articles have appeared in numerous journals, including American Libraries.

Kim Becnel is assistant professor of library science at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. Becnel teaches and researches in the areas of public library management, youth services, and children’s literature. Her work has appeared in Middle Management in Academic and Public Libraries (2011), Library Management Tips that Work (2011), Diversity in Youth Literature: Opening Doors Through Reading (2012) and Public Libraries.