Cultural Competence for Librarians

May 6 - June 2, 2024 | Four-week course

Estimated Time Commitment: 2.5 hours per week, or 10 hours total

The United States Census Bureau projects that by 2044, more than half of the American population will be a member of a minority group. Much like the United States population, higher education demographics are also projected to change dramatically, with the percentages of enrolled African American and Hispanic students expected to increase at a greater rate than that of Whites and Asian Americans by 2022.

For the library profession, which has historically struggled with developing a workforce that is reflective of the communities being served, these changing times will require cultural competence, defined by the Association of College and Research libraries as “a congruent set of behaviors, attitudes, and policies that enable a person or group to work effectively in cross-cultural situations” (ACRL, 2012). While cultural competence has become a part of some library and information science programs, for librarians currently working in the field, cultural competence may be an enigma.

This course will introduce librarians to the concept of cultural competence in the library and information science profession. Specifically it will assist attendees to:

• Define cultural competence as it applies within the library in order to explain the its benefits for organizational performance and success;
• Examine personal cultural values and beliefs in order to better appreciate the cultural values and beliefs of others
• Investigate strategies for applying cultural competence
• Identify opportunities for new or enhanced library programs, services and resources

Lorin Jackson (pronouns: she/them) is originally from New York City and currently lives in West Philadelphia. They work as the interim Head of Access & User Services, as well as Black Studies Librarian at Swarthmore College. Lorin identifies as Black, Indigenous, Queer, Gender Non-Conforming, and Disabled. Before becoming an academic librarian, Lorin worked with under-served youth in the non-profit and educational sector for a decade. During this time, they held positions as a teacher and Program Associate in after-school youth development programs in the Bay Area. In her spare time, Lorin likes to read, organize, listen to podcasts, DJ, dance, and craft.

CALL Training Partner for this Event: Library Juice Academy

**NOTE**: Access information for this learning event will be sent to all registrants by Library Juice Academy before the start of the event.

#CulturalCompetence