Libraries Meeting Needs Of Diverse Communities

Abstract

Demographers predict that by the year 2050, African-Americans, Asian Pacific Islanders, Latino/Hispanics, and Native Americans will constitute the majority of Americans.

The 2nd National Joint Conference of Librarians of Color is meeting this week in Kansas City, Missouri to help answer the question: How are our nation's libraries preparing for the demographic shift?

In the first part of Monday's Up to Date, we examine how libraries are rethinking how to provide services to diverse communities. The challenges they face include meeting the increasing demand for multicultural and multilingual collections; recruiting a racially diverse bilingual workforce; and the development of multilingual literacy programs that empower English-language learners.