Ambassador of Lifelong Learning/ Public Libraries in Multicultural Society: The Case of Pakistan

Abstract

Cultural diversity is an asset, an added value, and an opportunity. Public libraries promote cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue. They play dynamic roles as social meeting places. Public libraries in a culturally diverse society work as mediators between society, culture and users. Pakistani community is a mixture of different languages and cultures which have different dimensions' and local cultural roots. This present research aims to draw a real picture of public library's role in the multicultural and digital society of Pakistani. The role of public libraries can be very vital. They can play a critical part in advocating multiplicity responsiveness, as they are responsible to provide resources to the public. They provide help and guide general public to accomplish the objective of social and monetary fairness and equity that at last will prompt a peaceful & flourishing society. To get the maximum benefits from the cultural awareness programs devoted efforts, sufficient funds, adequate training and total commitment are required from the top management to low management of public libraries of Lahore. Public libraries can play essential role to overcome the cultural gap in Pakistani society. The work serves as a source to develop concepts and best practices of multicultural library work for all librarians concerned with these issues. It will provide an opportunity for professionals, students, and library members to create new awareness and practice.

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

“…Communication, particularly intercultural communication, is represented across the period, acknowledging that there are cultural differences between library staff and library patrons, thus reinforcing both the whiteness of the profession but also the need for cultural competence (Abdullahi, 2007; Caidi and Dali, 2015; Singh, 2020). The importance of public libraries as multicultural venues is recognised, Bashi̇r (2020) commenting on their role ‘as mediators between society, culture and users’ (p. 548), while engagement activities relevant to the cultural needs of the users reinforces the importance of cultural competence (Blackburn, 2014). In the field, librarians are increasingly required to provide support like that of a social worker.…”

“…However, she notes that ‘ the field continues to not reflect, and perhaps not fully understand, the diverse and dynamic communities it serves’ (Cooke and Jacobs, 2018: 3). Alongside her work, diversity and cultural competence have been increasingly discussed, in relation to their inclusion in the LIS curriculum, in readings thus creating awareness (Villagran and Hawamdeh, 2020), developing best practice (Bashi̇r, 2020), preparing students to work with different cultural groups (Alajmi and Alshammari, 2020) and moving beyond the focus on collections and access and towards race and privilege (Chancellor et al, 2021), although ‘diversity was scarcely increasing in terms of the number of professionals, faculty, students, and resources’ (Poole et al, 2021: 260). It seems that despite scholarly effort in discussing marginalisation and well-intended interventions the impact of these on the make-up of the profession is so-far minimal (Caidi and Dali, 2017).…”