Diverse Populations in Saskatchewan: The Challenges of Reaching Them

Kumaran, Maha; L, Salt

doi:10.21083/partnership.v5i1.1012

Cited by 6 publications

(8 citation statements)

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“…The TPL can potentially serve as a model library for other institutions through their ML collection development strategies. In their article, Kumaran and Salt (2010) concluded that compared to other large, urban library systems, TPL was the most dedicated to their diverse community based on their non-English services and community partnerships. Nevertheless, the results of this study reveal that at the time of data collection the TPL ML collection was far from proportional in representation to the population.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Reference and User Services Association's (1990) "Guidelines for Multilingual Materials Collection and Development and Library Services" echo that statement, relating the size of the collection to the size of the group; however, the updated 2007 "Guidelines for the Development and Promotion of Multilingual Collections and Services" version removes that wording from their guidelines. While it is important to compare the language collection to the population that speaks that language, there is a move away from what a "balanced" collection may refer to; rather, the goal of collection development is about meeting the needs of the user groups within the given constraints (Dali, 2010;Kumaran & Salt, 2010).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Libraries that have not utilized a community profile, such as census results, also have been found to have very imbalanced ML collections (Hansson, 2011;Hoyer, 2011;Rodrigues, 2006). As Canada's largest and most multicultural city, Toronto plays a significant role in receiving immigrants to Canada (Kumaran & Salt, 2010;Quirke, 2007). In 2016, 47.03% of Torontonians were immigrants, with 6.98% of those immigrants having come within the past five years (Statistics Canada, 2017).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…TPL has been noted for rising to the challenge of serving the most linguistically diverse population through continued investment in newcomer programming, particularly for their responsive building of ML collections and devotion to its development for the past few decades (Dilevko & Dali, 2002;Quirke, 2007;Rogers, 2003;Zielinska, 1980). As such, the TPL can be used as an exemplar for other public libraries since many have noticed its influence, compared to any other Canadian public library (Kumaran & Salt, 2010;Rogers, 2003;Zielinska, 1980).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Assessment of Multilingual Collections in Public Libraries: A Case Study of the Toronto Public Library

Ly¹

2018

EBLIP

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Abstract Objective – The Toronto Public Library has been frequently identified as having an exemplary multilingual collection to serve the information needs of the most diverse population in Canada; however, there is no evidence or collection assessment information available in the literature to validate those claims. This research sought to gain an understanding of the current state of their multilingual collection and compare it to the most recent multicultural population demographics. Methods – This was a case study of the Toronto Public Library multilingual collection using data collected from their online public access catalogue in November 2017. Data was collected about all languages available, with English, French, and the 17 most spoken mother tongues explored in more detail. Language results from the Statistics Canada 2016 Census of Population were also collected. Data was used to calculate and compare the English, French, and language collections to the population of reported mother tongues spoken in Toronto. Results – It was found that the Toronto Public Library has items in 307 languages. While the collection comprises many languages, there is far more focus on official language items than any other language compared to the population in terms of number of items and variety of formats. All 17 non-official languages that were studied had fewer items proportionally available in the catalogue than the proportion of speakers with that mother tongue. Conclusion – The high circulation rates of the Toronto Public Library’s multilingual collection indicate that it has had some success in meeting the needs of its community. However, as the largest library system in Canada with a highly regarded multilingual collection and with many resources for collection development, the Toronto Public Library falls short of having a language collection that is proportional to the languages spoken within the community. While it may not be possible to have a multilingual collection that is entirely representative of the community, this study shows that libraries can use census data to monitor population shifts in order to be responsive to the information needs of their changing communities.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Assessment of Multilingual Collections in Public Libraries: A Case Study of the Toronto Public Library

Ly¹

2018

EBLIP

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“…The Canadian Employment Equity Act (Government of Canada, 2014) uses the term "Visible Minorities" and defines them as "persons, other than Aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour" (Statistics Canada, 2012a (Fox, 2007;Ingles et al, 2005;McKenna, 2007), papers on the importance of diversity among Canadian librarians (Kandiuk, 2014;Leong, 2013), papers on multicultural populations, services, and collections (Berry, 2008;Chilana, 2001;Cho & Con, 2012;Dilevko & Dali, 2002;Kumaran & Salt, 2010;Paola Picco, 2008), and articles on information seeking behaviour or information practices of immigrants (Caidi, 2008;Caidi & MacDonald, 2008;Hakim Silvio, 2006) and reading practices of Canadian immigrants (Dali, 2012).…”

Section: Research Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identifying the Visible Minority Librarians in Canada: A National Survey

Kumaran¹,

Cai²

2015

EBLIP

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Objective -This paper is based on a national survey conducted in late 2013 by the authors, then co-moderators of the Visible Minority Librarians of Canada (ViMLoC) Network of the Canadian Library Association (CLA). It is a first survey of its kind, aiming to capture a snapshot of the demographics of the visible minority librarians working in Canadian institutions. The authors hoped that the data collected from the survey and the analysis presented in this paper would help identify the needs, challenges and barriers of this group of librarians and set future directions for ViMLoC. The authors also hoped that the findings would be useful to library administrators, librarians, and researchers working on multicultural issues, diversity, recruitment and retention, leadership, library management, and other related areas.Methods -An online survey questionnaire was created and the survey invitation was sent to visible minority librarians through relevant library association electronic mail lists and posted on ViMLoC's electronic mail list and website. The survey consisted of 12 questions: multiple-choice, Evidence Based Library and Information Practice 2015, 10.2 109 yes/no questions, and open-ended. The survey asked if the participants were visible minority librarians. If they responded "No," the survey closed for them. Respondents who did not identify themselves as minority librarians were excluded from completing the survey.Results -Of the 192 individuals that attempted, 120 who identified themselves as visible minority librarians completed the survey. Of these, 36% identified themselves as Chinese, followed by South Asian (20%) and Black (12%). There were 63% who identified themselves as first generation visible minorities and 28% who identified themselves as second generation. A total of 84% completed their library degree in Canada. Equal numbers (38% each) identified themselves as working in public and academic libraries, followed by 15% in special libraries. Although they are spread out all over Canada and beyond, a vast majority of them are in British Columbia (40%) and Ontario (26%). There were 38% who identified themselves as reference/information services librarians, followed by "other" (18%) and "liaison librarian" (17%). A total of 82% responded that they worked full time. The open-ended question at the end of the survey was answered by 42.5% of the respondents, with responses falling within the following broad themes: jobs, mentorship, professional development courses, workplace issues, general barriers, and success stories.

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Managers and leaders

Kumaran¹

2012

Leadership in Libraries

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Diverse Populations in Saskatchewan: The Challenges of Reaching Them

Cited by 6 publications

References 0 publications

Assessment of Multilingual Collections in Public Libraries: A Case Study of the Toronto Public Library

Assessment of Multilingual Collections in Public Libraries: A Case Study of the Toronto Public Library

Identifying the Visible Minority Librarians in Canada: A National Survey

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