Windsor Public Library hosts a simple website. Based on the website itself and links leading to related websites, I evaluated Wilson Branch's diversity responses as seen by the public while researching information about this community agency. While the library is making other diversity efforts in-person, I chose to focus on what could be found online. While I do highlight some diversity work for children and teens, the focus of this particular project is the middle-aged Black population.
Wilson Branch was analyzed through a strategic diversity manifesto (SDM) chart at the top and bottom of this webpage, as referenced in writing by Bharat Mehra, professor of this course, and Rebecca Davis (2015). While the article breaks down this chart into many categories including religion, LGBTQ+, and (dis)ability, I focused on the categories of age, race/ethnicity, local, and international to account for Black adults, taking into account the larger diaspora (along with understanding support for immigrants in general). The authors argue this format is meant to clarify the "who", "what", and "why" of current initiatives. Overall, diversity is supported vaguely in how the website presents itself, with the exception of events, despite the diversity of this suburb compared to many other areas bordering Hartford. For this reason, when observing the website through this rubric and considering the [diversity focus] and [community analysis], Wilson Branch has a score of 14/28. I hope to examine other demographics in depth at a later time.
As we see with the popularity of things such as the Milwaukee Public Library TikTok or the pandemic occurance of people using online resources from libraries all over the country, there is a need to inform whoever may be visiting the site a clear idea of the community you serve daily, even if it is ever changing. As Nicole A. Cooke writes in "Information Services to Diverse Populations : Developing Culturally Competent Library Professionals", vagueness of diversity in library work and representations may be partly related to the lack of diversity and social justice classes in library and information (LIS) education, along with the lack of diversity in LIS faculty statistics. Cooke notes that in July 2015, among 58 accredited schools with hundreds of courses amongst them, approximately 68 courses were related to social justice and diversity (Cooke, 2017). Many people in the current workforce are working through strategies at work first with minimal MLIS introduction, or using their expertise from elsewhere. For this reason, among others, it is important to invest in continuing education for particular roles and for group training for staff development.
Wilson Branch is largely limited by space, but does put in an effort to appeal to the community, even if it does not reflect in circulation of materials. As the newer Library of Things see more use, maybe this can increase all materials checked out. As a recent Connecticut study suggests, event attendance statewide is increasing, giving a chance to see what connects to audiences after pivoting so suddenly due to the pandemic (Kukiolczynski & Liu, 2022); some things may need to be changed to meet adults where they're at, as adult programs are least popular in this survey but the older adult population is increasing. They noticed "much of the existing research on event programming addresses academic libraries but left a gap amongst public libraries. Research already exists on what events are creative and successful, but not on when they take place or if that impacts their attendance."The authors connect this back to public health, noting the National Library of Medicine questions about clear websites when it comes interfaces and promotions impacting patron turnout.
Nicole A. Cooke. (2017). Information Services to Diverse Populations: Developing Culturally Competent Library Professionals. Libraries Unlimited; eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). http://libdata.lib.ua.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=1420839&site=eds-live&scope=site
Kukiolczynski, K. T., & Liu, Y. Q. (2022). Public Library Events: Who, What, Where, When, and Why? Public Library Quarterly, 41(4), 321–342. https://doi.org/10.1080/01616846.2021.1902184
Bharat Mehra, Rebecca Davis, (2015) "A strategic diversity manifesto for public libraries in the 21st century", New Library World, Vol. 116 Issue: 1/2, pp.15-36, https://doi.org/10.1108/NLW-04-2014-0043
