Laura,
> Dear LIS-LINK,
>
> I work in the LRC of a large multicultural FE College and I have been looking into ways of ensuring that our stock reflects the diversity of our student population. So far my work has included the creation of a Black and Asian Culture Collection and a 'Lifestyle' section covering issues of interest to young people.
>
> I would be interested to hear from any other libraries who have been involved in similar projects or who have been considering diversity issues. Do you have a library diversity statement? Do you refer to diversity in your collection development policy? If so, do you feel that these measures have any impact on users?
>
> Any feedback gratefully received.
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Laura Davison
> Kingston College
Sorry, but I very much doubt the wisdom of this kind of approach. I'm
sure that you are very familiar with tight limits on funding. That makes
it all the more critical, in my view, that every penny you have should
be directed to trying to support the pedagogic and/or research function
of your college. If Kingston includes courses on, say, Asian Studies or
Youth Studies, then library or LRC provision should reflect that; but,
if not, it should not. It is not the function of an FE (or HE) library
or LRC collection, I think, to reflect anything - "the diversity of our
student population" or anything else - unless it coincides with the
academic function of the community it serves. Large public libraries, on
the other hand, can make quite a good job of this sort of thing if so
minded (and they really ought to be): I'd be inclined to leave it to
them. You ask about the impact on (other) users: the most obvious impact
is a dilution of the resource available for supporting the functions of
a college that are paid for by its users and the tax payer.
Most Lis-link members work in libraries rather than LRCs, I'd imagine.
LRCs might have differing connotations in various institutions, but I'd
have thought the rationale for an LRC should not be so very different
from that for a library. Maybe the core question for you to consider is
quite what function an LRC should have that a Library might not?
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Jim Linnell, Humanities and Education Link Librarian, Keele University,
Keele, Staffordshire, ST5 5BG, United Kingdom. Tel.: (+44) 01782 584160
Fax: (+44) 01782 711553 e-mail: [log in to unmask]
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