Using Blogs in the Library to Reach Diverse and Non-Traditional Student Groups by Decker and Tomlinson

This week’s special area of focus is on diversity, and what better way to start our search than to evaluate an article designed to aid us librarians in making our libraries safe havens of learning for people from all walks of life? As always, a link to this article in its entirety can be found at the bottom of the post, and all images were obtained through Wikimedia Commons.

Diversify with Celebration

     Deck and Tomlinson begin their article promoting inclusiveness and the potential of blogging as an ideal platform. One of the first suggestions that caught my eye was the use of holidays as gateways into multi-cultural understanding, especially by focusing on “events that are specific to one population of students on campus but may be relatively unknown, and even less understood, by other students on campus” (63). Holidays can effect the lives of people in a variety of different ways. They can provide a sense of unity, especially when celebrated in communities instead of isolation. For some students who have traveled from abroad, the absence of an important holiday could be more than just words on a calendar—it could mean an absence of community. Giving other students an opportunity to learn about these important holidays, and giving those who celebrate those holidays a platform to express what it means to them, can help foster the type of close knit campus relationship that schools often hope for but sometimes struggle to achieve.

(the Holi festival of colors)

       When I was a child, I moved from my home in Canada to the western Pacific. The differences in culture and climate were initially very exciting, but as I settled into school life I found myself missing the things I grew up with, and confused about the changes in certain holidays(such as Thanksgiving, which happens a month earlier in Canada) and the absence of others all together. I was lucky enough to be with my family, but students who come to universities abroad usually leave their support systems behind with no guarantee that they’ll find a new sense of security. Even something as small as writing a highlight post on holidays around the world, and perhaps even endeavoring to host awareness events at the library, can go a long way towards making someone feel included.

(Canada Day celebration)

Diversify with History

     Decker and Tomlinson also highlight the importance of showcasing the diverse histories of a student population through measures such as Black History Month initiatives as well as taking the steps to feature any group on campus that may be minorities statistically and historically. I always loved seeing displays featuring literature and works from neighboring islands as a student, and the staff of our English department was always encouraged to use such resources in their coursework. However, even though you may assume that events like Black History Month, Women’s History Month, and Native American Heritage Month may be common, I think it’s important not to rely on the rest of your community—be it academic or public—to take the first steps. Coordinate with ongoing efforts when possible, but don’t wait for others to take initiative. After all, it can never hurt to highlight diversity, and diversity is by it’s very definition not repetitious.

                                                    (Wikimedia UK Black History Month)

Another valuable point in the article speaks to the potential alienation of under-represented groups, or patrons who just don’t fit in with the status quo:

 “Beyond the promotion of multicultural awareness and events, using a blog can help librarians address the interests of traditionally underrepresented groups. In an academic library, when a student or group of students feels that they are different from their peers and isolated from the student body at large, they may begin to disengage from their campus environment” (64)

Diversify with Accessibility  

      At my University, I was a part of a minority group. What’s more, I was also socially awkward and I often found myself isolated from my classmates—especially once we stepped outside of the classroom. I never felt apart of the community, and as a result I never felt motivated to attend community events or set foot on campus when I did not absolutely have to be there. My University had very little in way of diversity awareness campaigns or extra curricular events that appealed to introverted personalities. At the time it didn’t even occur to me to ask my library about setting up an event or if I could help coordinate an awareness activity. In fact, my library didn’t even have a blog, so I could not have written a guest post even if I had wanted to. Therefore, I know from experience that patrons are not likely to come to you and ask to feel included. Instead, you need to make sure that you’re openly engaging in communication, perhaps using polls on your blog to help readers pick the next highlight activity or actively inviting people who feel under represented to apply to write guest posts or help set-up events.

                          (Officers learn sign-language at Differently Abled Persons School in the Philippines)

     Lastly, I really love Decker and Tomilinson’s focus on differently-abled people, who are not only part of an often underrepresented group, but who also may have difficulty accessing information in a way that other patrons don’t. Specifically, my attention was drawn to an application that can help website managers learn if their sites are ADA friendly:

 “There are apps available that can be used on blogs to test for the functional accessibility of them (e.g., Easy Checks by the WebAccessibility Initiative)”(67)

I didn’t even know that mediums like this existed, and while I think it’s important to poll different-abled patrons directly and get first hand feedback on how a site could improve, having a tool like this is a great start. Overall, this article makes a lot of important points about inclusiveness in the library. More importantly, its full of suggestions for what we can do to help reach out to isolated individuals and groups and help the library fulfill it’s obligation to everyone who walks through it’s doors to find a safe and encouraging environment in which to expand their knowledge.

References 

Decker, E., & Tomlinson, M. (2014). Using Blogs in the Library to Reach Diverse and Non-Traditional Student Groups. Journal Of Library Innovation, 5(2), 60-70. Retrieved from http://www.libraryinnovation.org/article/view/325


Extra resources
Americans with Disabilities Act
Holidays: A Sampler from Around the World
Black History Month
Women's History Month
Native American Heritage Month
Jewish American Heritage Month