Do Languages Represent?: A Pilot Study on Linguistic Diversity and Library Staff | Summit Simon Fraser University SFU.ca Burnaby | Surrey | Vancouver | SFU Search SFU Online | A-Z Links About Summit What is Summit? Submitting your material Author pages Contact SFU Library Users Log in (SFU users) Log in (non-SFU users) Searching tips Do Languages Represent?: A Pilot Study on Linguistic Diversity and Library Staff Library Staff Papers and Publications Author:  Henninger, Ean Peer reviewed:  Yes, item is peer reviewed. Scholarly level:  Faculty/Staff Final version published as:  Henninger, E. (2018). Do languages represent?: A pilot study on linguistic diversity and library staff. PNLA Quarterly 82(3/4), 73-92. Retrieved from https://arc.lib.montana.edu/ojs/index.php/pnla/article/view/1342 Date created:  2018-11-19 Keywords:  Multilingualism Linguistic diversity Library employees Public libraries Abstract:  This paper aims to add to conversations on access, diversity, and representation in libraries by addressing the importance of language as a factor in library service and providing some of the first data on library workers’ language skills. Much of the literature on language in libraries focuses on issues of multilingual access and collection development, and there is less emphasis on the roles of staff and language skills in providing and mediating access. As well, while US librarians are less diverse than US library workers and the wider population in terms of gender and race, it has not been shown whether the same holds true in terms of language. A pilot study of staff from three US public libraries sought to address these gaps in knowledge about staff language skills and representation and to generate further lines of inquiry. Responses were compared with US Census data to determine linguistic representation relative to the service population. The results indicated that while staff surveyed were more likely than the wider population to know another language besides English, they were not likely to use that language on the job, and those who did use a language besides English often reported low fluency. Responses also showed differences in language knowledge and use between staff with and without MLIS degrees. The results highlight the differences between language knowledge, fluency, and usage, offer implications for library service and professional values, and suggest many future directions for research. Language:  English Document type:  Article File(s):  Full text Statistics:  Display Statistics Login to post comments Search our collections Search this site: This work is licensed under a Attribution Non-commercial Creative Commons license Browse our collections (Re)Claiming the New Westminster Waterfront ABC Copyright Conference 2018 About the Intellectual Property Issues in Cultural Heritage (IPinCH) Project ACTION for Health Action for Health Cross Thematic Materials more Recent items Mathematics professors' views on written and oral assessment in mathematics Encoded knowledge in oral traditions: Skwxwú7mesh transformer sites and their relationship with landscape perception and use Prejudice, discrimination, and immunology paradigm: A critical discourse analysis of the New York Times' reports on the respective responses to COVID-19 by China and Italy Zones of violence: Serb women inside the siege of Sarajevo Colouring complexes of planar triangulations and the line graphs of cubic graphs more 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, B.C. Canada V5A 1S6 | Terms / Privacy | Contact SFU | SiteMap | Road Conditions | © Simon Fraser University