”Det är vår verklighet. Vi måste göra det till vår styrka” : En studie av (inter)kulturell kompetens inom bibliotekens mångfaldsprojekt / “It’s our reality. We need to make it our strength” : Exploring cultural competence in public libraries diversity projects
- Authors
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2024
- Source
- DiVA - Academic Archive On-line
- Keywords
- Language
- Swedish
- License
- Green
- External links
Abstract
Sweden has a growing population of individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds, many of whom belong to minority groups. Public libraries serve the mission of being accessible to everyone, regardless of background, origin, or identity. Amongst Swedish library institutions, there is an evident desire and goal to become more relevant to the diverse communities of society. In this thesis Montiel Overall’s conceptual framework for cultural competence is utilized to explore such knowledge and abilities within diversity projects carried out by public libraries, financed by the Swedish Arts Council (Kulturrådet). The aim of this work is to provide insight into existing practice within diversity projects to ascertain what effort might presently be omitted or overlooked in order to provide useful information for the success of future projects and endeavours. Seven library projects have been analysed and project managers from six of them have been interviewed. The seventh project has two published reports, which have been utilized as data. The study shows that libraries have applied several different methods to become more relevant to diverse populations. The analysed projects focused on either public outreach or increased representation within the institutions. Some of the libraries focused on finding new places and settings to spread information about existing library services, whilst others committed to adjust and accommodate to the needs of minority populations. Furthermore, the study shows that a clear definition of cultural competence is absent in the Swedish library context. The studied projects shows that several elements, which are considered critical by researchers, are largely missing. Other elements are partially evident and still others are generally adopted and well used. This thesis argues that although considerable efforts have been made to meet the needs of minorities, continuing education, broad discussion within the field and courage to change and evolve is needed for these efforts to be successful and for continuing achievements. Furthermore, institutional courage is needed for these efforts to be successful, to create change and to become more relevant to increasingly diverse communities. Findings suggest that there is a general need to actively pursue professional development opportunities to strengthen cultural competence skills within the libraries on a professional, institutional and personal level with special attention to self-reflection and reflection on institutional values.
