Menu:
Information Professionals as Multicultural Ambassadors
by Barbara Oeffner
Diplomats must represent their countries in a positive way wherever they go. To receive VIP treatment, an information professional needs to think of herself as an ambassador from her library. Getting out in the community can be akin to representing a country at the United Nations, and can also assist in your own career advancement.
Your visibility in the community and liaisons with diverse groups can enhance your chances of getting promoted. Managers will respond to your proactive stance when you market the library among your community's many constituents, and your association with various people helps you ask for references when seeking advancement. You are building your own brand recognition; it is good for business to make your name a household word.
Partnering with diverse organizations creates benefits for all. My region of Florida, for example, has many immigrants from Mexico, Cuba, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Haiti, along with a diverse group of local farmworkers and laborers. To help me connect with these groups, I am a member of the local Workforce Development business group, as well as the Glades Community Development Corporation (GCDC). Through their meetings, I interact with clergy, the community college Provost, presidents of social organizations, the NAACP, and many other representatives.
Programs outside the library let you develop partnerships with other educational and business organizations. Community outreach shows commitment to expanding the library's influence and programs to everyone, not just current patrons of the library. By being an ambassador, you will increase your personal contacts as well.
Organize an Event
You can also be a diplomat with the Friends of the Library and your volunteers. By organizing events to recognize the dedicated people who donate their time and efforts, you show respect for those who help make your library a success. You might, for example, host a literacy recognition dinner where you pay tribute to those who are making strides in the areas of adult literacy.
Through your diverse partnerships, you can organize a festival, dinner, or event that celebrates different cultures. GCDC sponsors a Cultural Day in June that showcases mariachi bands, inspirational music, Puerto Rican dancing, and Dominican folklore, with ethnic food served. A Spanish-Haitian sports event fosters cross-cultural competition and cooperation. A local school hosts a yearly breakfast to thank its community partners. Another public library has an around-the-world festival, showcasing costumes, dances and foods from other countries.
Expand Your Horizons
Membership in civic clubs can expand your knowledge of organizations in your community. As treasurer of my Lion's Club, I have a chance to meet and develop friendships with other Lions. Speakers at our weekly luncheon meetings keep me up-to-date on area happenings. Community leaders, businessmen, law enforcement, health care personnel, and government employees are present, and it's a chance to socialize, mingle, and learn from them. Membership in the Palm Beach County Library Association also invites resource sharing with other information organizations.
If you already sit on a board, take a more active role in that organization. One Hispanic insurance executive admitted she joined several organizations to bring in business, but then realized that the real rewards were from giving back to her community, not taking from it.
Enhance Your Sensitivity
Part of your diplomatic career requires sensitivity to cultural differences. This promotes greater understanding among people of different races and national origins. For example, relationship building is important in the Hispanic culture. A person might spend 20 minutes talking before getting down to business, and, if the person leaves the business, so will the relationship. Building trust is important in the Hispanic community, while being on time is not. Differences in communication with Hispanic library staff can be worked out when managers are aware of these cultural differences.
Hispanic women are often culturally conditioned to be submissive, but career women and second- and third-generation Hispanics are strong and more assertive, says a Hispanic communications specialist. In her book, La Vida Rica, Yrma Rico says she always did more than what was expected. "Just showing up is not good enough," she advises. No job is only 9 to 5. Being bilingual was a huge help, but if you want to stand out from the crowd, follow her advice.
Sponsor an Intern, Mentor a Student
Another way to be an ambassador to diverse groups is to invite a librarian trainee to intern at your library. We have had an intern from Ameritech spend two weeks here as part of her job training experience. This summer, in partnership with the community college, we will host a librarian from Jamaica. Volunteers gain valuable experience, while you gain an understanding of working together through multicultural teamwork and expand your diverse staff.
Student employees can get valuable job experience and go on to become professionals in your community. Setting an example makes them, in turn, ambassadors for your information organization. We have had students go on to become pharmacists, naval intelligence officers, ophthalmologists, and, of course, librarians.
Being an ambassador for your workplace helps advance both your library and your career. Adopt a diplomat's philosophy, and your library, your community, and your career will thank you for it!
Barbara Oeffner, a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, B.S.J. and Florida State University, MLIS, is the reference librarian at Belle Glade Library, a branch of the Palm Beach County Library System. She lectures on literacy and also supervises the volunteers at her library. She is author of "Chief - Champion of the Everglades," a biography of Seminole chief James E. Billie.