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QLP
RollOut
August 29,
2002
Session 1 of "Combating racism" component of the QLP
programme.
Designing an "equal" library
service
Read the quotes in the following pages.
Imagine that you are asked to design a new library in an inner London borough. The authority has just got a large grant from Europe and has lots of money.
Your task today is to devise a service delivery plan to ensure that the library meets the needs of all its population, including potential users.
This will be followed by a discussion in which all of you will have an opportunity to participate. Please report on:
(1) What would be the key elements of your service delivery plan;
(2) What issues and/or principles will inform your decision;
(3) What would be management consideration in ensuring that your plan would be carried out effectively;
(4) You might want to consider staffing implications as well as issues around stock.
If there is sufficient interest in developing your ideas further, we can discuss the proposal further at subsequent meetings and do a joint presentation at CILIP's "Unity in Diversity" conference on November 22 where QLP has been allocated a slot.
shiraz
You have to
see
with the
eyes of the people
you have to
hear
with the
ears of the people
you have to
speak
with the
voice of the people
you have to
fight
for the rights of the people
- Walter Rodney
In every
home, there will be a library that was once the privilege of the rich. These books will be at the disposition
of the poorest classes who, before, had no books or libraries, because we are
now going to struggle for the culture of the
people.
- Fidel Castro (2000)
Racism is
an integral part of our culture – of the sense of Britishness, so that to
threaten racism is to threaten the stability of the unjust order of which it is a
central part.
- Kenneth Leech, Anglican theologian. Quoted in Goan Overseas Digest
8(2)2000
Anti-racism is about breaking hierarchies, traditional methods of
working, of relating to people, of becoming more broad based in representation
and concerns. The challenge of
racism is a challenge to democracy.
- Race
& Class.
There are entrenched and historical inequalities in respect of a
large section of population who are disadvantaged. This has to be addressed first.
-
Gus John, 1995.
Blacks may
be in the society but they are not part of the society… the struggle today is
the same as in 1962 – for justice and dignity.
- Dr. Wilfred Wood,
Bishop of Croydon & President of the Institute of Race Relations (Jan 2000). Quoted in Goan Overseas Digest 8(2)2000
While the need for “change of culture” is gradually becoming accepted in the LIS world, its role in combating racism has not been sufficiently explored. There seems to be a general reluctance to talk openly about the need to address racism in the workplace. From casual conversation with library workers, it would appear that there is a lot of management bullying on the library workplaces, made more difficult for Black workers by racist attitudes mixed with such bullying. There is a feeling in some workplaces that any attempt to address racism automatically implies a criticism of the management and staff’s commitment to an “equal” service. The attitude often is: “ we are already providing a ‘good’ service to Black communities, so there is no need for change”. In essence, this is a refusal to change, a refusal to look at service provision from the point of view of Black communities, a refusal to accept results of research such as Roach and Morrison, a refusal to accept the conclusions and recommendations from the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry.
Have you
heard of barriers because of glass ceilings?
Areas you
cannot enter.
There are
no glass ceilings, just layers of people
Thick
layers of people – making decisions.
So take the
challenge and break the glass
Help to
create social inclusion
Stamp out
racism from libraries.
- Fairclough, P
(1999)
Too much
has been imposed from above, when experience shows that success depends on
communities themselves having the power and taking the responsibility to make
things better.
- Tony Blair, PM in
Foreword to Bringing Britain Together
(1998, p.7).
It is not
only the issues of Black library service that are ignored overall. The existence of resistance to racism in LIS field has
also been similarly ignored by library educators and “mainstream”
publications. It is true that in
every work place where there is racism, there is inevitably resistance to it - however
open or underground it may be. For
those seeking proof of this, I would recommend a visit to any workplace where
there are Black information workers - but such resistance will become obvious
only to those sympathetic to the cause.
Again, it
is in the interest of the those in power to ignore or play down the existence of
such resistance. It is very seldom that one hears of resistance to racism in
LIS. The resistance of Black communities and librarians to
institutionalised racism is hardly
recognised, let alone being used as an example of how to combat racism. It is ironic that a profession devoted
to free flow of information itself practices censorship of information and does
it so efficiently. (Durrani,
1999b).
Everyone in
the BBC must own the need for change and squeeze out
indifference or obstruction, ease in openness and accessibility - and
make the BBC a welcoming home for people of varied cultures and
backgrounds.
- Greg Dyke (2000)