New and emerging communities for public libraries.A review of multicultural mul·ti·cul·tur·al adj. 1. Of, relating to, or including several cultures. 2. Of or relating to a social or educational theory that encourages interest in many cultures within a society rather than in only a mainstream culture. library services in the Australian Capital Territory Australian Capital Territory (1991 pop. 276,468), 939 sq mi (2,432 sq km), SE Australia, an enclave within New South Wales, containing Canberra, capital of Australia. It was called the Federal Capital Territory until 1938. has highlighted the need to ensure inclusive and equitable equitable adj. 1) just, based on fairness and not legal technicalities. 2) refers to positive remedies (orders to do something, not money damages) employed by the courts to solve disputes or give relief. (See: equity) EQUITABLE. service provision. Multicultural services are more than just collections, and electronic services may be the most efficient method of supporting new and emerging communities ********** In 2003, the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Public Library conducted a review of its multicultural services, within the context of the ACT government's policy document Frameworks for a multicultural Australian Capital Territory 2001-2005. (1) Extensive community consultation took place with peak bodies, government agencies and community groups, as well as a survey of 500 individuals and two public meetings. The information gathered was supported by the timely and detailed publication of A social and demographic profile A demographic or demographic profile is a term used in marketing and broadcasting, to describe a demographic grouping or a market segment. This typically involves age bands (as teenagers do not wish to purchase denture fixant), social class bands (as the rich may want of multicultural Canberra Canberra (kăn`bərə), city (1991 pop. 276,162), capital of Australia, in the Australian Capital Territory, SE Australia. The Canberra urban agglomeration includes a small area in New South Wales. . (2) The key issues emerging from the consultations fell into the following categories of concern * ageing communities * descendent generations * temporary residents * new and emerging communities * heritage issues * cross cultural understanding Support agencies and peak bodies, including the Migrant Resource Centre A Migrant Resource Centre or MRC is a community-based organisation that provides settlement services for migrants and refugees. The main purpose of MRCs is to cater to the immediate and longer term needs of migrants and refugees to facilitate successful integration into and the ACT Multicultural Council, all commented that the needs of new and emerging communities were their greatest concern. Prior to its review (3) the ACT Public Library concentrated on supplying collections for the largest language groups in the community. However the review established what many staff already believed. That there were more complex issues to address and that to truly serve all members of the ACT community we had to look at new ways to be relevant and inclusive. In terms of access to useful resources and information, new and emerging communities were recognised to be the most in need of support because they had fewer family and community members to assist them. Since the review, the challenge has been to find ways to provide inclusive and relevant services for these small groups in ways that are economically viable and easily accessible. Government immigration policy An immigration policy is any policy of a state that affects the transit of persons across its borders, but especially those that intend to work and to remain in the country. and migration patterns The Commonwealth Department of Immigration immigration, entrance of a person (an alien) into a new country for the purpose of establishing permanent residence. Motives for immigration, like those for migration generally, are often economic, although religious or political factors may be very important. Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs has a migration policy (4) that is divided into the following categories Migration program * Skill migration * Family migration Humanitarian program * Refugees Individuals who leave their native country for social, political, or religious reasons, or who are forced to leave as a result of any type of disaster, including war, political upheaval, and famine. * Special humanitarian program Most immigrants are from the skilled group bringing professional qualifications and occupational experience. The second largest group is family migration, which now mostly covers spouses aged 20 to 39, with much lower proportions of older aged people. As indicated in A social and demographic profile of multicultural Canberra, (5) arrivals under the humanitarian program have reflected world current affairs current affairs npl → (noticias fpl de) actualidad f current affairs current npl → (questions fpl d')actualité f and political hotspots. Migration under this program has been much smaller with most settlers being the young and adults. In the early part of the 1990s numbers and proportions of arrivals were higher from Asia. The Middle East and Afghanistan Afghanistan (ăfgăn`ĭstăn', ăfgän'ĭstän`), officially Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, republic (2005 est. pop. 29,929,000), 249,999 sq mi (647,497 sq km), S central Asia. have been major sources during the 1990s. The largest number for the decade came from former Yugoslav republics. Now African countries are the focus of arrival programs. Trends such as these directly affect the nature of our services and the collections we may hold. More than 20 per cent of Canberra's population was born overseas and The total number of people with direct overseas influences is almost half (44.7%). This is higher than the national average (40.4%). This total overseas influence comprises nearly one fifth of all children living in Canberra, nearly a quarter of the young adults, over a third of mature adults and one in ten of older aged persons in Canberra. (6) Multiculturalism multiculturalism or cultural pluralism, a term describing the coexistence of many cultures in a locality, without any one culture dominating the region. is therefore a strong part of Canberra's identity even though, compared to other states and territories, the number of arrivals in the ACT is small. Approximately 800 new settlers arrive in the ACT each year. Within this number there is a great diversity of backgrounds. The adult education program in Canberra catered for 589 students with 62 languages in 2001-2002. This great variety emphasises the problems of assisting small, very diverse, groups. The Integrated Humanitarian Settlement Strategy (IHSS IHSS idiopathic hypertrophic subaortic stenosis. IHSS Idiopathic hypertrophic subaortic stenosis, now known as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, see there ) established by Dimia helps humanitarian entrants rebuild their lives in Australia Australia (ôstrāl`yə), smallest continent, between the Indian and Pacific oceans. With the island state of Tasmania to the south, the continent makes up the Commonwealth of Australia, a federal parliamentary state (2005 est. pop. by providing them with support designed to meet their initial settlement needs. The IHSS provides services to humanitarian entrants through a range of service providers, many of whom are community based, and volunteers. It is these groups that have given the ACT Public Library the opportunity to identify meaningful ways to assist new and emerging communities. Support groups include * The Migrant Resource Centre * The ACT Multicultural Council * Settlement officers * Refugee refugee, one who leaves one's native land either because of expulsion or to escape persecution. The legal problem of accepting refugees is discussed under asylum; this article considers only mass dislocations and the organizations that help refugees. support groups * Austcare * Adult Migrant mi·grant n. 1. One that moves from one region to another by chance, instinct, or plan. 2. An itinerant worker who travels from one area to another in search of work. adj. Migratory. Education Program (AMEP AMEP Adult Migrant English Program AMEP African Middle East Petroleum Co. AMEP Asymptotic Multi-User Error Probability AMEP Association for Medical Education in Pakistan AMEP Automated Missile Engagement Planner ) * Multicultural woman's advocacy Relevance An important issue for the library, which emerged from the consultations, was that we have to demonstrate the potential relevance of libraries to people's lives. Many support organisations were not aware of what we could offer nor had thought to include us in any forums or programs they were developing. Many settlers have come from countries where public libraries may not exist, they may have had to pay for the services or they were considered to only be there for the highly educated Issues for new and emerging communities During the consultations, the following issues were identified as barriers to the use of government services, including libraries * limited personal & informal community support structures * people on temporary protection visas A temporary protection visa (TPV) is a visa issued by the Australian government to persons who have been recognised as refugees fleeing persecution. TPVs were introduced on 20 October 1999 by the Howard government in response to what it claimed was misuse of the asylum process by (TPVS) not officially allowed access to Commonwealth government services * limited knowledge of community services * limited resources in their language * limited knowledge by the wider community about the communities themselves. More specifically, in relation to libraries, the following were of concern * people needed to connect with their place of origin, friends and family left behind. This means access to the internet and multilingual mul·ti·lin·gual adj. 1. Of, including, or expressed in several languages: a multilingual dictionary. 2. word processing word processing, use of a computer program or a dedicated hardware and software package to write, edit, format, and print a document. Text is most commonly entered using a keyboard similar to a typewriter's, although handwritten input (see pen-based computer) and to enable emailing etc * English language English language, member of the West Germanic group of the Germanic subfamily of the Indo-European family of languages (see Germanic languages). Spoken by about 470 million people throughout the world, English is the official language of about 45 nations. learning support was essential * literacy issues in the language of origin as well in English sometimes formed barriers to access necessary information to effectively use community services * people had little knowledge of what a public library could do for them * information about health, employment and education were priority information needs * access to information in the official language of the country of origin and language of identity eg Arabic and Dinka could help to met these needs support to maintain cultural and linguistic heritage for family and children was valued * opportunities to share and celebrate identity were appreciated The complexities of some situations in terms of language were demonstrated in the example of young people from the Sudan Sudan (s  dăn`), officially Republic of Sudan, republic (2005 est. pop. 40,187,000), 967,494 sq mi (2,505,813 sq km), NE Africa. waiting in
refugee camps for several years. They may lose their grasp of Arabic,
the official language of The Sudan, due to limited educational
opportunities in camps. They may retain their language of identity such
as Dinka but often only in a spoken form, and then they have to also
learn English.
Library programs to address these issues Since the completion of the review, the ACT Public Library has been working hard to implement over 64 recommendations. In terms of new and emerging communities we decided to be guided completely by the community organisations and the contacts they gave us with members of several new and emerging communities. Most of these services involve the use of electronic resources. Some of the services we have implemented are basic and already readily available in other states or territories. In fact it has been a priority to link with existing networks around the country and internationally, as the only really viable way to proceed. We are very grateful to Oriana Acevedo and the NSW NSW New South Wales Noun 1. NSW - the agency that provides units to conduct unconventional and counter-guerilla warfare Naval Special Warfare Multicultural working group for their support and we are now, for example, able to offer bulk loans in over 40 languages. The following sample of services, have been implemented as a direct result of working closely with our communities and linking into their networks. Electronic library information Using the model created by the NSW working group we have translated key library information into 28 different languages giving priority to new and emerging groups which may have the least understanding or knowledge about what we can provide eg Mon, Amharic, Dari, Urdu. This information is on our website so that library staff can print it as needed as needed prn. See prn order. . The translations and creations of the pdfs have been a minimal cost and have overcome the financial impossibility Impossibility See also Unattainability. belling the cat mouse’s proposal for warning of cat’s approach; application fatal. [Gk. Lit. of having hardcopy publications in many languages. We can now explain our services to many small diverse communities. Electronic access to information and people from the country of origin The library's internet terminals can now finally handle multiple scripts, and in cooperation with the Canberra Institute of Technology The Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT) is a vocational education provider in the Australian Capital Territory, and is one of a system of TAFEs. Qualifications offered by CIT range from certificate to degree level. we have internet and word processing training after our English conversation groups. We provide a gateway to multilingual sites such as Open Road. The library can offer this training assistance to individuals, including through The refugee support group in Canberra, which makes it a priority to give every new refugee access to a computer. Through digital divide funding we will also have a priority use computer for in the Civic library to access the internet and for English language practise prac·tise v. & n. Chiefly British Variant of practice. prac  tis·er n. . We will also be trialling a multilingual word
processing package.
English learning software In cooperation with the adult migrant education program we have been able to act upon a suggestion from the refugee support group that with have English language learning software ready for use in eight of our libraries. We now have eight software programs available based on Amep suggestions. They may also be borrowed. Refugee dictionary project In response to a suggestion from the refugee support group we also have a number of authoritative dictionaries available for long term loan to refugees. Languages include Arabic, Urdu, Farsi, Amharic, Pashto, Urdu, and Dari. Multicultural family storytime project Recognising the importance of connecting with new and emerging communities, the ACT Public Library developed a program with the Migrant Resource Centre, the ACT Multicultural Council and the ACT Ethnic Schools Association to work with five small groups. It was agreed that by connecting with families we could reach the most people within a community. The aim was to find out how we could become relevant to these communities and at the same time provide a program that would make them feel welcome and more widely understood by the broader community. We worked with The Mon, Ethiopian, Pacific Islander Pacific Islander n. 1. A native or inhabitant of any of the Polynesian, Micronesian, or Melanesian islands of Oceania. 2. A person of Polynesian, Micronesian, or Melanesian descent. See Usage Note at Asian. , Korean and Kurdish groups. The aim was that volunteers from each community were invited to help us develop programs of their stories, songs and games to share with each community and then with the wider community of Canberra. In addition, the aim was to mount displays about each group was to promote cross cultural understanding. Each community chose the library in which they wished to have their program and funding was made available for them to buy and collect resources, which could include books, videos, cultural objects, music etc. These would ultimately become kits available to each community at any time but also for use by others. Electronic publishing An umbrella term for non-paper publishing, which includes publishing online or on media such as CDs and DVDs. It quickly became apparent that in most cases resources were going to be hard to buy. They were searched for in many ways including help from family and friends overseas. When items could not be purchased members of the community created them themselves. When published stories were not found, volunteers translated traditional stories and Australian stories Australian Story is a weekly biography program, produced and broadcast by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Australian Story has covered many people from diverse backgrounds and reputations. into their own language. Our Tongan volunteer found resources in Fiji, in Samoan, Hindi, Fijian etc but not in her own language and so they decided to make their own books. Poems created by a local community member were written down in Tongan and English and digital photos were made in the library of the children illustrating them. These books are now the pride of their ethnic school and there is an active program to develop more resources. Also inspired, the tiny Samoan community is doing the same, supported by the library. These resources can now be available electronically and by publishing them and more on the internet we could provide wonderful resources for families to help share their rich cultural and linguistic heritage with their children. The Migrant Resource Centre has been so impressed im·press 1 tr.v. im·pressed, im·press·ing, im·press·es 1. To affect strongly, often favorably: by this project that it applied for additional funding to work with more communities. The settlement officer of the Belconnen region has recognised the great value of such a program in helping children to maintain their cultural heritage as well as being able to develop bilingual bi·lin·gual adj. 1. a. Using or able to use two languages, especially with equal or nearly equal fluency. b. materials that can help with their language and literacy development. She has also applied for funding to develop a similar program with the Sudanese community. This project is one that has truly connected the library deeply with our small communities. The enthusiasm of the support organisations and the groups themselves to continue to develop such programs has been a deeply satisfying experience. As libraries, we have the technology, the software and the equipment to support such programs. Where hardcopy resources, do not exist we can support communities to create their own and assist to share them with other members of their communities across the world. Open Road is a wonderful potential gateway and the work already done by Andrew Cunningham
Andrew 'Andy' Cunningham was a major political figure in North East England, brought down by, and jailed for his role in, the Poulson scandal of with the Sudanese community in Melbourne, to make available the scripts and provide websites means that we are already on the way. Conclusion Electronic tools can enable us to serve the people of new and emerging communities in many exciting ways. Web publications can help us to achieve * new community partnerships and networks to make services truly inclusive and accessible * cost effective ways to promote services * greater access to people and resources around the world * tools to assist people maintain their linguistic heritage * support for maintaining the rich linguistic and cultural heritage of small communities * tools to enable more effective participation in Australian Australian pertaining to or originating in Australia. Australian bat lyssavirus disease see Australian bat lyssavirus disease. Australian cattle dog a medium-sized, compact working dog used for control of cattle. society through English learning and information access By experimenting with electronic services and actively seeking out networks around Australia and the world, public libraries can develop valuable new services for those we have previously been unable to reach. References (1) ACT Chief Ministers Department, Multicultural Affairs Unit Framework for a multicultural Australian Capital Territory 2001-2005 Canberra, ACT Government 2001 www.cmd.act.gov.au/community/multicultural/Publications/Multicultural %20 Framework.pdf accessed 30 January 2004 (2) ACT Chief Ministers Department Demographics The attributes of people in a particular geographic area. Used for marketing purposes, population, ethnic origins, religion, spoken language, income and age range are examples of demographic data. Unit, Policy Group A social and demographic profile of multicultural Canberra 2003 www.act.gov.au/government/demography accessed 30 January 2004 (3) ACT Library and Information Services See Information Systems. Review of multicultural library services 2003 www.library.act.gov.au/actpl/multiculturalservices reviewpage.html accessed 30 January 2004 (4) Commonwealth Department of Immigration rind Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs 2003 www.immi.gov.an/migration/index.htm#migrati on accessed 2 February 2004 (5) ACT Chief Ministers Department Demographics Unit, Policy Group A social and demographic profile of multicultural Canberra 2003 www.act.gov.au/government/demography p27 accessed 30 January 2004 (6) ACT Chief Ministers Department Demographics Unit, Policy Group A social and demographic profile of multicultural Canberra 2003 www.act.gov.au/government/demography p4 accessed 30 January 2004 Nicky Lo Bianco is project officer ACT Library and Information Services. She has been involved in public libraries and other community related organisations since the 1970s. In the ACT Library and Information Services she has been manager of Dickson and Civic Libraries, coordinated children's services and worked on a number of special projects to develop new programs. These have included the creation of initial web based Coming from a Web server. See Web application. services and the trial of outreach Outreach is an effort by an organization or group to connect its ideas or practices to the efforts of other organizations, groups, specific audiences or the general public. programs using broadband technology broadband technology Telecommunications devices, lines, or technologies that allow communication over a wide band of frequencies, and especially over a range of frequencies divided into multiple independent channels for the simultaneous transmission of different signals. , including an online video reference service and an interactive website fully maintained by 50 young adults. Nicky has had a long standing interest in the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse communities which has resulted in her work on a major review of public library services in the ACT in 2003. Since June 2003 she has been working closely with her local community to implement over 64 recommendations for change. Extensive consultation with peak bodies and community organisations, established that needs for new and emerging communities were a priority concern. Meaningful ways to address these needs have become of major interest in her work. Nicky is now working on a project to develop new outreach services for a wide range of disadvantaged This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. Please help Wikipedia by adding references. See the for details. This article has been tagged since September 2007. groups across Canberra. Email Nicky.LoBianco@act.gov.an Nicky Lo Bianco Multicultural Services Officer ACT Library and Information Services Received February 2004 |
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