No. 4. 2003
Public space for personal use
The multicultural society as the norm
Democratic dialogues between cultures
An extended hand to integration
Contents
Public space for personal use 3
The multicultural society as the norm 4
One in five library users 8
MCL and Infopankki. Multicultural cooperation on the net 10
The Multicultural Library 12
Viewp int
Democratic dialogues between cultures 14
Bridge of words 16
The Multicultural Library. Quo Vadis? 18
An extended hand to integration
Interview with director Jens Thorhauge, Danish National Library Authority 20
ARI-Anti Racist Information 26
The white paper on culture 26
Nordbook News 27
Ethnic minorities and the role the public library can play in helping them ’find their feet’ and move towards a happy integration in their
new countries, is being looked into in more detail in this issue of SPLQ. Per Rekdal from Norway considers the concept of a multicultural
society and suggests four very useful kinds of multicultural expertise on behalf of the librarian: information skills, awareness skills,
cultural skills and social skills. Robert Vaagan, also from Norway, ponders the question of multiculturalism and the significance of the
multicultural library. Swedish Marianne Lindberg discusses the report One in five library users, which highlights the county libraries of
Östergötland and Jönköping’s policies in relation to the immigrant population, while the other contribution from Sweden deals with the
project called Bridge of Words – integration of equal opportunities.
Multicultural cooperation on the net is flourishing, and both Finland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark report on successful and
innovative services.
Finally, the Danish journalist Per Nyeng, has been posing some very interesting questions to the director of the
Danish National Library Authority, Jens Thorhauge. The answers are both informative and thought-provoking.
Jonna Holmgaard Larsen
Editor-in-chief
[email protected]
Public space
for personal use
Jorge Luis Borges wrote about “the
universe which others call the Library”,
composed by an infinite number of
hexagonal galleries. This “Library of
Babel” seems to represent the ultimate
systematic order even when duplicated
by those dubious mirrors, but one can
feel the threat in the air - it can all
change into chaos any minute; “the
vertical wilderness of books runs the
incessant risk of changing into others
that affirm, deny, and confuse everything like a delirious God”.
One can find some exciting architectonic visions of this mythological
library on the web.
In the previous issue of SPLQ there
were inspiring articles about library
architecture, about planning physical
environments for users, collections and
services, offering, in the hybrid library
era, also access and services virtually,
far beyond the limits of these beautiful
buildings. Today the word space is
frequently mentioned in connection
with libraries, they are public places
offering people personal space. This
implies freedom from demands of any
kind in an environment filled with
possibilities, distinguishing libraries
from shopping malls or entertainment
centres.
I had the opportunity of listening to
Naomi Klein at the ALA/CLA Annual
Conference in Toronto in June this
year. Referring to those more or less
concealed Gats-negotiations she
strongly urged libraries to stay distinct-
ly public. If we have libraries selling
books and souvenirs and bookshops
with story-telling hours for children
and nice reading corners, people soon
can’t tell the difference between public
and commercial. Then one day we risk
having a situation where booksellers
sue libraries for unfair competition, for
lending for free what they trade, and
no one stands up to defend libraries
because there really is no big difference.
But back to the vertical wilderness
Borges mentions, affirming, denying
and confusing, the universe which
others call the Internet. Never has it
been so easy to produce and distribute
so much disinformation, so many
unwanted messages, such devastating
quantities of futile infotainment all
over the world. On the other hand never has it been so easy to inform and
get informed, to keep in contact - vertically - with like-minded, to follow politics and science, to discover for oneself
or participate in distance learning.
Libraries lay down hexagon after hexagon into this virtual space; meta search,
portals, subject guides and catalogues.
According to Finnish Library Strategy
2010 libraries should add value to information retrieval and management
through services that are critical of
media and sources. The right and
ability to make use of information is a
basic value of the information society,
and libraries should be gateways also to
electronic communication with the
Barbro
Wigell-Ryynänen
public administration. Libraries are
creators and supporters of community
spirit, they are open for everyone and
strengthen democracy.
Paul Virilio says that McLuhan’s Global
Village is nothing but a “World Ghetto”
as, from his point of view, globalisation
obscures people’s sense of national
identity, rights and democracy. For a
librarian and a civil servant working
with implementing a library strategy
for the future and annually reading
through hundreds of innovative applications from Finnish libraries for
producing user-friendly services and
contents on the web, the importance of
being distinctly public becomes very
clear, as do the reasons why societies
based on democratic principles and
transparency should truly invest in
their libraries.
A library utilisation rate of 80% of the
Finnish population, meaning real visits
in real library buildings besides the
rapidly growing use of remote services,
makes one feel very optimistic. Libraries are built to be social and cultural
centres of the civilised information
society.
Barbro Wigell-Ryynänen,
counsellor of library affairs
Finnish Ministry of Education
[email protected]
SPLQ:4 2003
3
The multicultural society
as the norm
Improved professional skills among the
staff of cultural institutions and adaptation
to a multicultural society are the themes of
a Nordic project first initiated by Nordbok
in Copenhagen and later developed into a
programme involving co-operation between Nordbok and the Nordic Museum
Committee. The project, which started in
August 2002 and will continue until 31st
March 2004, is administered by the Norwegian Archive, Library and Museum Authority. Actual work on achieving the aims
of the project, however, has barely commenced.
Briefly stated, the aim of the project is
as follows: Archives, libraries and museums, including the various connected
institutions, must face the fact that all
the Nordic countries are now multicultural societies and will remain so. This
must have an obvious, permanent influence on our courses of study and
training programmes. Acquiring professional skills relevant to our multicultural societies should not – as at present – consist at the most of an hour or
two briefly considering the subject and
then a further course that the majority
choose not to take. Instead of being a
matter of choice, this subject should
constitute a normal part of basic training.
That is the project’s explicit and extremely important aim.
In order to achieve this aim, four working groups have been set up; one each
for archives, libraries and museums
and one which covers all three sectors.
These working groups have developed
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SPLQ:4 2003
a course programme that was tested
out on representatives of the three
sectors from 22. to 27. November 2003.
The project hopes to see this programme accepted as a basis for the introduction of individual courses in the
relevant Nordic centres of study.
The trial programme can be directly
copied, certain elements can be used or
it may simply serve as an inspiration
for something completely different.
The important aspect is to promote an
understanding of the necessity for the
inclusion in both basic and further
training of what can briefly be described as ‘multicultural expertise’.
What precisely do we mean, however,
by librarianship adapted to a multicultural society? This question can probably be answered in many ways. Personally I have found it useful to classify
types of expertise in four different
ways: information skills, awareness
skills, cultural skills and social skills.
Information skills
My understanding of professional
information skills relates to the methods of obtaining and organising
knowledge. This expertise possesses in
principle no cultural element and has
gained ground in the training of librarians at the expense of cultural skills.
In many ways a parallel can perhaps be
drawn with the manner in which social
sciences, which claim to offer tools for
the understanding of all cultures, have
flourished at the expense of the humanities, which provide knowledge about
specific cultures.
The process of obtaining literature in
many different languages and distributing it throughout the land among
people of various ethnic origins can be
regarded as primarily an informational
task. The same can be said about helping people of various backgrounds to
use the Internet in order to establish
contact with their country of origin.
The cultural element in these activities
can be limited to what is necessary to
reach the informational goal. One
needs to learn no more than is sufficient to do the job and any multicultural competence will reflect this fact.
At the same time, however, the purely
informational approach presupposes
that it is the user who possesses most of
the specific cultural knowledge. The
user must know what he or she is
looking for and must turn for assistance to the librarian trained in the skills
of information search.
Awareness skills
Expertise of this nature is vital to anybody who works with or comes into
contact with persons of different cultural backgrounds. This applies to
teachers, policemen, municipal employees, etc. and of course also to librarians, regardless of the type of library.
Many universities and colleges of
higher education, as well as a number
of private institutions, have developed
courses of study within this particular
‘genre’. Awareness skills focus on interaction, the treatment of identity and
cross-cultural communication.
We often hear that after a course of
Per Rekdal
We are not talking about “how to behave towards a Pakistani”
study in cross-cultural awareness, it can
be difficult to return to a place of work
where colleagues lack the same experience. This problem arises from the fact
that one has not acquired the kind of
knowledge easily conveyed to others.
On the contrary, the essence of such a
course of study is to undergo a process
within oneself, a kind of personal maturing. The aim is to learn to adopt a
critical and analytical attitude towards
one’s social surroundings, thus making
it easier to understand not only one’s
own self and one’s actions but also
those of others.
Although rewarding for oneself and
useful in relation to people one would
otherwise regard as strangers, putting
this new awareness into practice is nevertheless very demanding, since it is
much easier to act according to prejudice. A further serious difficulty arises
if one’s colleagues view cross-cultural
awareness with scepticism. It is therefore very important that whole working environments acquire these awareness skills.
Awareness skills are absolutely fundamental to anybody whose work involves relationships with people of a
different cultural background. The
view that these skills are something
special and out of the ordinary only
serves to exemplify our failure to appreciate that the multicultural has now
become the norm.
Cultural skills
In the daily practice of awareness skills
it is a great advantage also to have relevant cultural expertise. The working
group for the library sector has raised
the question of the place for specific
knowledge about different cultures.
Those who support finding a place for
cultural skills are confronted by the
following objections.
- The population of the Nordic countries contains people with roots in 150
or more different nationalities. Such a
variety of cultural backgrounds means
that any concrete project to improve
cultural skills would be pointless.
- Attempts to teach how other cultures
actually are inevitably lead to the reinforcement of stereotypes, thus defeating the purpose of the project.
- In a course of study already under
considerable pressure, it is impossible
to find a place for the teaching of cultural skills. There are many other subjects that need to be covered and better
so than at present.
I shall return to the last of these objections towards the end of this article.
The first two points can be met by the
following counter-arguments.
We are not talking about teaching how
other peoples are. This is an objection
typical of those professions, such as
sociology, which are mainly processoriented, and may be valid enough
when referring to attitudes such as
“how to behave towards a Pakistani”.
Such recipes serve only to confirm
prejudice. Rather we are talking in a
somewhat old-fashioned humanistic
manner about teaching something of
the different cultural histories of the
world, their art and their literature.
Nor are we talking about studying
150 or more different cultural traditions. Just as the cultural history of
Europe as a whole can be dealt with in
a meaningful manner, so can one clearly approach other great cultures of the
world.
It is very important to remember that
although the cultural element in the
training of librarians may be less
nowadays than before, most librarians
have at least 12 years normal schooling
behind them, schooling which in the
main has been based on learning about
their ‘own’ culture. Very few will possess more than the most elementary
knowledge of cultural history from
other parts of the world. This gap in
cultural skills is to such an extent taken
for granted that hardly anyone reflects
on it. We can observe, however, that
many pupils with a different cultural
background to the majority often fall
behind in school because so much of
the teaching takes the majority culture
for granted
It is clear that awareness skills will
always be under pressure from an
everyday reality of general scepticism
among the majority. However, awareness skills are much more effective
when reinforced by a sound foundation of cultural knowledge.
A discussion on how it is that young
people from the minority populations
can top crime statistics and yet at the
same time be more law-abiding than
SPLQ:4 2003
5
their Norwegian counterparts may well
provide a serious basis for a dialogue
on cultural differences. How much
easier, however, for such a dialogue to
have as its starting point the pleasure of
discovering a new literary tradition.
In other words, awareness skills and
cultural expertise will mutually support and strengthen each other and
provide a far better foundation for
communicating with a wide variety of
library users.
Finally and not least, cultural skills are
in demand. People of immigrant background look for guidance and information not only on the cultural and literary traditions of the ethnic majority
but also on the culture they themselves
come from.
Furthermore, given a multicultural
society, library users from the population majority also have a much greater
need than they realise for knowledge
about the cultural background of the
immigrant population.
Many library users from immigrant
minorities are well-educated within
their own cultural background. In their
new homeland, however, this knowledge is useless outside their own
ethnic circle. The very fact of moving
to live in a new country represents a
dramatic fall in personal skills. Almost
everything one knew about coping in
and with society becomes irrelevant
and must be relearned.
The consequences of losing these skills
can have a serious effect upon selfimage, family situation, employment
possibilities and the ability and motivation to interact with the majority
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SPLQ:4 2003
population of one’s new country.
A library run on the basis of multicultural expertise will be able to promote
the search for knowledge among minority users and heighten their selfrespect. Such a library can also attempt
to establish dialogues about literary
traditions other than those of Norway
and Western countries. Such initiatives
are needed by members of the majority
population as much as by the minorities, since dialogues of this nature can
help to reveal human nuances and underline the relevance of different cultural traditions. This is nothing less
than sound integration politics.
which may demand further consideration, such as level of education and age
spread (from certain areas, for example, a high proportion of refugees
are children). Developing a library
collection, however, and being able to
recommend suitable literature to users
naturally require knowledge about the
culture or society from which the
books come. Unfortunately, such problems are not solved by giving responsibility for selection to one central library in each of the Nordic countries,
even though these libraries do an excellent, professional job.
When discussing multicultural/multilingual/international libraries (choose
the term of preference) emphasis is often laid on quantity. It becomes a question of obtaining as many books as
possible, in as many languages as possible and for as many libraries as possible, in order to satisfy all the many
impatient users. Not surprisingly, there
is never sufficient money available to
fulfil these aims.
Social skills
Libraries are widely used by the new
minorities and would appear to be
alone among our cultural institutions
in fulfilling the ideal that all population
groups should be represented among
users. Admittedly, it is equally true for
libraries as for other cultural institutions that poorly-educated members of
the majority population – and their
children – are underrepresented. Interestingly, this educational divide seems
less apparent among the new minorities. Instead we see a clear gender gap
with very low representation among
adult women from certain countries.
This emphasis is understandable, since
quantity is easily measured and shortage of books is indeed a serious problem. The actual nature of the books
purchased is, however, also relevant
and not simply in relation to ‘high’ or
‘low’ quality. Persons who have fled
from political persecution, for example,
will be looking for literature or channels of information which circumvent
what is officially approved in their
country of origin. There are also a
number of aspects of each user group
Young people from population minorities often see libraries as a free space
away from the social pressures they
experience from one side or the other.
This applies particularly to young girls.
Older people use libraries to maintain
contact with their homeland, while the
unemployed find a meeting place
which costs nothing and where they
can keep themselves up-to-date with
what interests them. And everybody
can obtain assistance according to their
needs.
In addition there remains a further
argument for the importance of cultural skills.
The multicultural society, however, is here to stay and we must accept the fact
As a result, some librarians find themselves combining their professional role
with that of social worker and youth
club leader. Much of their work lies in
an area with no clear borders between
the informational, the cultural and the
social. Although some countries arrange courses to assist librarians in
dealing with problems of discipline,
nevertheless the use of libraries by the
new minorities is a positive phenomenon fully in keeping with the fundamental aims of the public library
sector.
Since libraries are widely used by
people from the new minorities, a
number of politicians feel that the
public library sector should play an
even greater role in the process of integration. To an even greater extent than
already is the case with many libraries,
they could perhaps offer advice and
assistance in connection with the individual user’s relation to the community, such as help with seeking employment, health information, social conditions, etc.
A more diversified librarian training
or a too diversified role?
There is good reason to question
whether or not the role of librarian has
expanded to cover too many duties.
There are three strategies available in
response to the wider role now demanded of librarians.
The first strategy presupposes that the
basic training of librarians should be
extended to encompass all necessary
functions. My own personal opinion is
that training should definitely to a
much greater extent than at present
respond to the cultural diversity of
modern society and the new demands
on library functions. For example,
should not the learning of awareness
skills be made a standard part of all
vocational training where the nature of
the work involves contact with persons
of different cultural backgrounds? On
the other hand, how far should one go
towards including aspects more specifically relevant to libraries and multicultural demands?
Another strategy would be to let various types of ‘special studies’ become
normal requirements for any librarian
working in a library of more than
average size. Such extra qualifications
could, for example, be some specialist
knowledge of Arabic language, culture
and literature or perhaps a certain expertise in social and health-related problems among young people from a minority background.
The third response is to recognise that
the varied functions of today’s public
library system far exceed the reasonable
limits of the role of librarian and therefore to allow libraries to open their
doors to several different professions.
These could be specialists in information and communication technology,
linguists, cultural experts, health personnel, etc.- all in addition to the librarians themselves.
The multicultural norm
The challenge inherent in our project is
to establish an understanding of the
multicultural norm. Clearly the project
represents a modest beginning to a
long process. Whereas globalisation
and internationalism in themselves are
terms with a positive ring, their consequences such as wide-spread immigration and the creation of multicultural communities have acquired a less
positive aura. The multicultural society,
however, is here to stay and we must
accept the fact. The sooner we manage
to identify the perspectives, the knowledge, the literature and the teaching
concepts which best meet the types of
competence required, the easier it will
be to adjust the training programmes
for librarians to include content relevant to the normality of our multicultural society.
The need to create satisfactory learning
environments for students from the
whole cultural spectrum in each of the
Nordic countries has long been recognised. Many educational institutions
have made it a measure of success to
ensure that the composition of the
student body should reflect the cultural
mix of the population as a whole. Very
few of these institutions, however, have
made it an equally pronounced aim to
ensure that the education they provide
is fully geared towards serving a multicultural society.
That must be the next step.
Per Rekdal, project manager,
Norwegian Archive, Library and Museum Authority
[email protected]
Translated by Eric Deverill
Photo: Harald Skeie
SPLQ:4 2003
7
One in five library users
The county libraries of Östergötland and
Jönköping have commissioned an investigation into how these libraries carry out
their policies relating to the immigrant population.
The author of the report One in five
library users, Christina Ekbom, points
out that the number of people born
outside of Sweden has risen from 3%
in 1950 to 11.4% in 2000. Indicating
that every fifth (1.8 million) library
user is either an immigrant or a person
from different cultural circumstances.
A library’s policy towards immigrants
is no longer an inconsequential matter
of servicing a neglected minority
group. The evolvement and differentiation observed in the population structure of Sweden runs parallel to changes
in the library sector as a whole in
which opening hours and media subsidies are giving priority over, and to the
detriment of, their visiting activities.
Focus has been transferred to new
areas and is especially applicable to libraries and their newly found roles
within the spheres of education and information.
Directives from the Board of Integration and the Swedish Migration Board
8
SPLQ:4 2003
affect planning work at libraries. The
Board of Integration has an overall responsibility to realise political integration goals. They negotiate settlements
with the municipal authorities, which
are in receivership of refugees and
reimburse them with standard compensation remuneration. A refugee is a
person who has applied for and received a residence permit in Sweden.
The notion of a refugee is often applied
on a daily basis at libraries, including
those seeking asylum and who have yet
to have their applications for residence
permits granted. Responsibility for persons seeking asylum lies with the Swedish Migration Board, but municipalities and county councils are only reimbursed for certain costs related to children attending pre-schools and schools
as well as certain medical service.
The first central media supply plans
were approved in 1996 and revised in
2001. They consisted of an agreement
reached between the International Library Lending Depository (IBLC) and
the county and municipal libraries
throughout Sweden. The extent of the
IBLC’s field of responsibility includes
all language groups except those of
Swedish, English, German, French,
Danish, and Norwegian and the Sámi
language. The county libraries are by
law assigned to supply, replenish and
maintain holdings containing certain
languages. In addition the Library Act
states that the service provided to
linguistic minority groups at primary
municipal libraries is an assignment
fully comparable to all other service
aspects offered the community as a
whole. In a shared sphere of responsibility the county libraries and the IBLC
should replenish their various media
holdings. The IBLC also have a responsibility to supply the refugee camps
with various kinds of media. A number
of refugees and asylum seekers visit the
local library to attain support in their
dealings with the Swedish Migration
Board both at a central and local level.
County libraries can assist by placing
the resources, bestowed the municipal
authorities for refugees assigned a particular municipality, for the local libraries to use as they see fit.
There is a noticeable difference in the
number of requested depositions from
the local libraries at the respective
county libraries of Östergötland and
Jönköping. Depositions are approximately half the number to those of the
Marianne Lindberg
county of Jönköping. There are fewer
requests for children’s books, the
amount of languages are halved as are
the amount of loans. There are as many loans requested via depositions
from the International Library as there
are at the county library of Östergötland. The latter might suggest that
holdings at the host library are insufficient. In the county of Jönköping there
is a media support plan, in which the
councils are advised not to create permanent holdings related to small and
average-sized language groups. Instead,
the necessary funding is pooled and
shared. The county of Jönköping also
has an extensive circulation of periodicals. The operation is a troubled one
requiring considerable personnel intensive endeavours. The person in charge
of the investigation is of the opinion
that these tasks need to be simplified.
The report recommends that libraries
should complement or replace depositions with individual loans, as the use
of public depositions is often limited.
Through developments in the expanding IT sectors the options to improve
and offer individualised service have
increased. In unison the user and the
librarian can access the catalogues of
the county library and the International Library to see what exactly is available in various subject areas. Libraries
should create their own elementary
holdings catering to those languages
spoken by large enough groups of
people and then complement their holdings with loans from county libraries
and the International Library.
The investigation’s point of departure
was everyone’s right to equal service.
The investigator did not find it relevant
to lump together a large portion of the
population and consider them a neglected group, as this could be construed as depreciatory. The very word
immigrant can be seen as a disparaging
label for a person who has upheld Swedish citizenship for decades. Ekbom is
also hesitant in using terms such as immigrant media, immigrant language
and major languages. Instead, libraries
should offer a full and varied supply of
media choice in different languages in
which the community’s populace is a
reflected composite. The goals set by
libraries should, of course, take into
account immigrants. If, for instance,
libraries plan to deal with the issue of
information flow, then this should
obviously be aimed at all target groups
irrespective of what language they want
their information in!
A major task for the county libraries is
to offer in-house training in how to
guide users when dealing with individual loans and the choosing of suitable
links for the library’s website. The
county library of Östergötland is in the
process of offering its staff in-house
training enabling them to offer immigrants and refugees a valid, individually
adapted service and instruct them in
the use of library catalogues and databases. A network for learning and methodology is to be established whereby
library staff and professionals, who
teach such subjects as Swedish for immigrants and Swedish as a second
language, participate. The libraries
need, to a greater extent than before, to
market themselves among those who
come from different cultural communities.
Marianne Lindberg, library consultant
County Library Östergötland
marianne.lindberg @lio.se
Translated by Jonathan Pearman
Photo: Mona Quick
SPLQ:4 2003
9
MCL and Inf
Multicultural cooperation on the net
Multicultural Library (MCL) is a web service for immigrants maintained by the
Helsinki Library and Cable Book Library.
MCL provides information about Finnish
society - immigration, housing, study, work
and culture. Immigration offices and societies working in immigration and multicultural matters also take part in the development of MCL. The MCL web service is published in three languages: English, Swedish and Finnish.
Infopankki is a web service maintained by
Helsinki’s International Cultural Centre
Caisa. The purpose of this service is both
to assist immigrants in finding web pages
containing important information in their
own language and to function as a tool for
officials working in the field of immigration.
MCL was originally a joint Scandinavian project which was initiated autumn 1996 by Helsinki City Library’s
Multicultural Library Services and Oslo
City Library. MCL received Cultural
Finland- and Finland as an information society-project funding for the
years 1996-1999 from the Finnish Ministry of Education. Helsinki City Library’s Cable Book Library has been
responsible for maintaining MCL web
pages since the beginning of 2000.
Classification of
information for immigrants
MCL’s objective is to gather and classify
Internet material which will assist immigrants in integrating into Finnish
society and guide them to be active in
their environment. MCL also publishes
opankki
Kari Lämsä
events announcements and articles
dealing with multiculturalism. Users
are able to influence MCL content by
sending ideas for development, suggestions for links and by writing articles
The content is primarily made up of
Internet material provided by public
authorities and information is categorised such that it can be found according to different life situations. There is
a description of contents along with
the links which particularly highlights
immigrant-related information. In
addition to official information, MCL
also provides information about international culture in Finland. The web
pages contain information about multicultural festivals as well as organisations and libraries involved in multicultural work.
MCL’s most extensive section, Countries and Regions, which contains all
the nations of the world, is MCL’s window to the world, containing links to
general information, media, culture
and articles about each country. Additionally, these pages include information
about mission work and friendship
societies in different countries, maps,
weather conditions, statistics etc. All in
all, MCL has links to thousands of Internet pages.
Problem of usability,
technicality or management?
The great amount of content and the
changing of links naturally creates
problems in maintenance for the site
and in order to overcome these, we will
be initiating a new publishing system
in the autumn of 2003. The biggest
problem, however, is the usability of
the contents. Reading and understanding information from public authorities is often difficult even for native
citizens, to say nothing of immigrants.
Often, the rigid formality of business
in administrative offices gets transferred to the Internet web pages. Users
click on one link after another and
then discover they end up at the same
place where they began. This is of
course frustrating to both immigrants
and immigration workers.
Development of cooperation with immigration officials for the Internet has
been a challenge for MCL all along.
Earlier, the problems of cooperation
seemed to be technical – how to decentralise maintenance, how to keep the
information up-to-date and monitor
its accuracy or how to present the same
events or contact information in several different places. Currently, since
technological development has eliminated almost all of these problems, cooperation should be running smoothly,
saving time and money in every area.
Economic and management questions
had become more significant than
technical matters. The construction of
a multi-channel database with good
production and management tools and
archiving and search features costs tens
of thousands of euros. Furthermore,
the development and upkeep of the
service costs money and ties up staff.
The development and implementation
of the new network service requires
much from one office and the distribution of work and expenses among the
several offices is not easy either. The
several different offices and finances of
immigration workers are generally divided by administrations. The function
of the new network system must be
continued in the future, even when
funding for different projects comes to
an end. This requires a unified commitment from public authorities to
maintain the service.
Moving ahead in cooperation
In 2002, Helsinki City Library’s International Cultural Centre Caisa, Multicultural Library Services and Cable
Book Library began working together
on a new kind of guidance channel
intended for immigrants. In 2001,
Caisa received financing from Europe’s
social fund and from the City of Helsinki for the Open Learning Centre
project and this also enabled the procurement of the new publishing system. The City Library is responsible
for the database’s server and its maintenance.
The immigrants’ Infopankki developed
through this cooperative effort contains for the most part the same official
information as MCL, but emphasis has
been placed on the usability of the service, the search features and interaction. Certain information can be presented in different subject areas, for
example, retirement-related information can be found in both the employment section and social services secSPLQ:4 2003
11
The objective is to obtain all information for immigrants from one database
tion. In the descriptions, the most clear
and simple language is used; official
jargon is avoided. The pages also contain information about immigrant employees in the project, to whom users
can turn for help if they do not understand the Finnish Internet pages.
Infopankki will also have a question
and answer section and all questions
will be stored in the database; answers
to earlier questions can likewise be
found in this databank of knowledge.
In the future, Infopankki will include
e-learning courses, discussion forums
and information about multicultural
projects. In October, 2003, Infopankki
will be available in Finland’s 13 most
common immigrant languages, as well
as in Finnish.
During this year, 2003, the contents of
MCL and Infopankki are being combined. The objective is to obtain all
information for immigrants from one
database, so that the different offices
can use and update their own sections.
Each office will be responsible for the
information it provides.
A client can look at the library’s pages,
Caisa pages or, for example, on the
Nuorisoasiainkeskus pages and find the
same information. This way, offices
don’t need to provide overlapping information on their own pages and once
information has been published, it can
be found and accessed again and again.
Infopankki and its objectives have been
introduced this year on many occasions
12
SPLQ:4 2003
The Multicul
at the different offices and in other
areas where immigrant workers are
employed. This project has aroused
interest and most people have adopted
a positive opinion of it. The amount of
enthusiasm and investment of time
and work the different areas will put
into the project remains to be seen.
One proposed solution would be to
establish an editorial staff to maintain
Infopankki, the financing for which
would be obtained from the ministry
responsible for immigration work. An
operational example of this kind of
editorial staff is the editorial office of
the public libraries’ network services,
which is primarily financed by the Ministry of Education.
At this time, the main issue is that by
autumn 2003, we shall have a welldesigned and functional foundation,
on which we can begin to develop new
services and patterns for cooperation.
Kari Lämsä,
manager of cable book library/Helsinki City Library
[email protected]
Translated by: Turun Täyskäännös OY
Photo: Tao Lytzen
The Multicultural Library in Norway dates
from 1983 when it was established as a
separate department at the Deichman Library in Oslo (the main Oslo public library).
The basis for the library was the Deichman’s own collection of literature in the
most important immigrant languages.
Today the cost of maintaining the Multicultural Library is shared between the Oslo
municipal authorities (25%) and the Norwegian state (75%). The library has three
main functions.
- To act as a centre of competence and a
source of guidance for Norway’s county
and public libraries with regard to library
services aimed at meeting the needs of
immigrants and refugees
- To purchase and classify literature in 37
specific languages
- To provide a distance lending service for
refugees and immigrants.
In order to improve library services for
language minorities the Multicultural
Library has initiated several projects,
including BAZAR, the purpose of
which is to create a national Internetbased information service for both library staff and the individual user. In
addition there is a desire to improve
ICT expertise and multilingual skills.
The project is based on the results of
several surveys revealing that library
users with a minority background are
active and interested and make greater
use than ethnic Norwegians of all library services, particularly those based
on the Internet. We also know that this
user group has less access at home to
tural Library
From the Deichman Library in Oslo. Photo: Chris Eriksen
the Internet than Norwegians in general. The library thus becomes an important source of digital information
and communication, providing also the
necessary training in the use of such
services. BAZAR provides a source of
knowledge about Norway, Norwegian
conditions and the Norwegian language. At the moment information is
available in English, French, Arabic, Somali and Norwegian, but the aim is to
increase this to 10 languages. FINFO in
Denmark has served as a model for this
project and financial support has been
provided by the Norwegian Archive,
Library and Museum Authority.
Sidsel Hindal,
The Norwegian Archive,
Library and Museum Authority
[email protected]
Translated by Eric Deverill
Sweden
Denmark
The Virtual International Library
finfo.dk
The International Library in Sweden has a
national obligation of disseminating books
and other media in foreign languages. The
library is also a resource for the country’s
public libraries when it comes to advice
and development within this area.
FINFO’s purpose is to strengthen ethnic
minorities’ access to information on rights,
obligations and opportunities in Danish society. FINFO contains an subject-categorised index of links to information about
asylum and residence, work, education,
politics and culture as well as a linksguide to information on the 45 countries
from which refugees and immigrants in
Denmark most often come. The nationwide
information is available in 11 languages,
while regional information is available in
fewer languages. FINFO is maintained by
the State and University Library/Immigration Library as well as 130 county and
public libraries.
Over the years 2003-2005 the Virtual International Library (VIB) will be developed.
The idea is to create a virtual meeting place for users as well as staff which will present literature and links to publishers,
shops, journals and information on society.
VIB will invite discussions and exchange of
ideas, receive suggestions for purchases
and answer questions in eight languages.
VIB is to develop in close cooperation with
perspective users in the form of interviews, focus groups and evaluations. 2005
should mark the presence of a well-functioning version which is available to all.
SPLQ:4 2003
13
Democratic dialogues
between cultures
Uno Nilsson, 57, library director at Tjörn in
Bohuslän, Sweden. He has a long and varied
library background as library adviser at Halland
County Library, children’s librarian, book mobile
driver, reading promotor and protagonist of
reading in for example Zimbabwe. He further
introduces himself as public debater, idealist,
library visionary, children’s books fantasist,
speaker, lecturer, versifier and cultural cosmopolitan. He used to be a troubadour and rock
In many respects public libraries stand for
integration. Cultures from all over the
world mix on library premises. It becomes
a place where the tall story, myth and lie
from so many countries co-exist with truth,
knowledge and learning. In such a context
the lie can actually represent learning or
knowledge and myth could be truth, at
least as myth. Is this not what integration
is all about? The ability to live alongside
one another in a state of mutual respect
and dignity?
guitarist with reggae, salsa and afro as his
speciality. Loves fishing, carpentry and walking
in the mountains, with lots of humour and a bit
of spirit.
Then why do we talk in terms of cultural diversity? Does more than one
culture really exist? Is not culture in itself infinite? A poet from Minor Asia
once told me that culture is merely the
sum of ways in which people relate to
each other and to the notion of existence. In other words, there is only culture and it can appear in different shapes depending on who the carrier is.
Nevertheless, public libraries are in
reality a far cry from integration.
Language and manifestations of literature, despite their origin in everything
human and divine, are not integration
as such. A language is ruthless in divi-
14
SPLQ:4 2003
ding those who command it from
those who do not.
With diversity anything is possible and
with greater diversity come endless
combinations. Integration can never, as
certain politicians will have it, downsize everything to the same template,
demanding that “they shall be like
Swedes”. An average tells us nothing
about the width and depth of a phenomenon. To incorporate new ways of
thinking and approaches in which to
view life and society from people who
have their origins from any other part
in the world, will bring about a disturbance of the balance. The average
mean will be displaced, making what
was once measured against the norm
eventually become the unusual.
Libraries must adapt to changes and
make room for the new. They must
reflect what is new in a society whose
standards change with every new
member and for each novel thought
and idea.
But should not public libraries evolve
at a faster pace than society on the
Viewp int
Uno Nilsson
Public libraries should qualify as platforms for the democratic dialogue
whole? With its ability to reflect the
past as well as the present and future,
the public library should be that point
in society where the necessary steps can
be initiated at short notice and in
which changes are instantaneously noticed. The public consists of all those
who make use of the library. At libraries anyone can access reading matter
and information. Internet complements and conveys contacts with literature from all across the world.
Thereby, yet another public library
assignment becomes vitally important.
It is not enough to convey literature,
news and culture from the different
countries. Sweden is not Croatia, Somalia or Vietnam. Sweden is Sweden
and it has certain fundamental cultural
norms. Norms that have been developed over hundreds of years characterised by peace and democracy. Sweden’s democratic psyche has its roots in
the relatively durable position of the
medieval smallholders. The Swedish
and Nordic cultures possess, by international standards, a relatively high
degree of equality between the sexes.
This is not always the case with those
countries from which many of the immigrants come. The public libraries
therefore have an important assignment in informing and conveying the
Swedish tradition. The library must
make way for meetings, debates and
discussions.
A consequence of the respect bestowed
different viewpoints is the marginalization of Swedish cultural tradition. A
visitor from abroad will be met by a
chaotic situation. Who is the Swede?
Libraries have increasingly improved
their ability to communicate new media in various languages, but are the
new Swedes given the possibility to
grasp the underlying values of the society in which they have arrived?
Public libraries should qualify as platforms for the democratic dialogue,
facilitating the meeting of different cultures including that of the Swede.
Grant the public library the initiative
to allow discussions between the cultural bearers from all countries, including our own.
Uno Nilsson
uno.nilsson @tjorn.se
Translated by Jonathan Pearman
SPLQ:4 2003
15
Bridge of Words
Integration of equal opportunities
What measures need to be taken when
available printed information ceases to ensure the needs of the library visitors?
How does one negotiate the fact that there
is so much relevant information available,
yet it is so difficult to access in an easy
way?
In addition, what if it coincides with the
fact that the library visitor commands
neither the language, its technical innovations nor the complexities of society as a
whole. Then what does one do?
Questions concerning these issues not
only laid the foundation for, but also
instigated, the project titled: Bridge of
Words. Since September 2002, the
County Library of Halland, the Regional Library of Västra Götaland and
the County Library of Skåne jointly
administer the project. The Library of
Falkenberg, the District Library of
Kortedala and Malmö Public Library
cater for the practical aspects of this
venture. The aim of the project is to
construct an IT-gateway with a selection of links from all available resources found on the Internet and
present a survey of these. The project’s
target group are those whose native
language is not Swedish. Another,
though secondary target group are the
libraries, their staff as well as other
public authorities and institutions who
16
SPLQ:4 2003
will benefit on a daily basis when accessing the gateway.
in information concerning the culture
and society of Sweden.
Why these particular libraries? The
reason being that they represent three
different kinds of public libraries and
therefore possess different prerequisites
and resources enabling them to meet
the expected needs of the potential target groups. One is a provincial library
in the municipality of Falkenberg with
a population of 38,000, but with a lesser number of inhabitants from other
countries than the national average.
In an attempt to solve these issues, the
libraries have approached them via
different methods and ways of working. These have overall been reliant
upon the knowledge, experiences and
networking gained on previous occasions.
Another provincial library is that of
Kortedala, on the outskirts of Göteborg, with similar population figures to
that of Falkenberg. The difference is
that Kortedala has a larger proportion
of people from other countries. Finally,
there is Malmö whose main library’s
resources reflect the needs of a major
city. Approximately 38% of its population are immigrants.
An initial thought was to offer the target group the possibility to take part in
media coverage from their countries of
origin, thereby enabling active participation in events taking place there.
With hindsight, this objective has been
revised on numerous occasions and
new areas of interest have evolved. It
became apparent that the target group
thought it more important to take part
In Kortedala they have for a long time
been working for and with the people
who have other native languages than
Swedish and provided various technical
computer solutions such as investing in
software programmes. Previous projects have produced areas of interfacing
activities moulding the libraries into
natural meeting places for the inhabitants of Kortedala.
Within the framework of the Bridge of
Words, priority is being given to computer training putting the emphasis on
word processing and courses in navigating the Internet. So far, 300 have completed the courses, which were held in
Swedish, Persian and Arabic. As a final
addition to the courses, diplomas were
issued and the students were encouraged to suggest links that had been of
use.
The Public Library of Malmö has for
some time had their own links cata-
Anders Gistorp,
Leena Månsson and
Gunnar Südow
logue, titled New in Sweden. This site
has been extended through ‘link
searchers’ on fee retainers, who were
appointed for their particular skills.
Taking the long view, an important
aspect will be instructing the staff at all
33 of the county’s municipal libraries
in order to create a well-used collection
of links.
The library in Falkenberg had previously only offered its users a minimal
service, without any knowledge of the
target group, in the shape of newspapers, magazines and book depositions.
The first part of the project entailed
making a thorough inventory of the
municipality in a search for prospective
co-operative partners. Despite the fact
that Falkenberg is a relatively small
municipality, it soon became apparent
that the number of potential partners
was larger than expected, as was the
partners’ sphere of very extensive activities.
Contacts have been established with
the municipality’s responsible agency,
SFI, for teaching immigrants Swedish.
Representatives of the library visit the
language courses on a regular basis,
informing the students of its activities,
asking them to fill in a form enquiring
about their expectations and needs at
the library. The investigation therefore
becomes a part of the teaching and
knowledge attainment of Sweden as a
nation, simultaneously improving
library service to its users.
Falkenberg intends to forge ahead by
initiating a focus group aimed at
immigrants who have resided in
Sweden for a number of years. The
purpose of which is to find out what
needs the library can meet for someone
who has only just arrived in Sweden.
Those of us involved in the project
have overall been met with positive
responses when presenting our ideas.
Both the primary and the secondary
target groups have taken note of the
pragmatic gains to be attained, as well
as the positive effect this project might
achieve, such as a quality-checked
gateway with links to several important
web sites and an initial web page which
provides a starting point leading to an
endless ocean of information.
Anders Gistorp, County Library Halland
[email protected]
Leena Månsson, County Library Skåne
[email protected]
Gunnar Südow, Regional Library Västra Götaland
[email protected]
Regional co-ordinators for the Bridge of Words project
(www.ordbron.nu)
Translated by Jonathan Pearman
Photo: Mona Quick
SPLQ:4 2003
17
The Multicultural Library
Quo Vadis?
What is the meaning of multiculturalism
when applied to libraries, particularly to
public and school libraries? This was the
subject discussed by about 50 persons
attending a one-day conference held at the
Oslo College for Higher Education in May
2003. The conference was arranged by the
Faculty of Journalism, Library and Information Science in co-operation with the
Multicultural Library at the Deichman Library (Oslo’s main public library).
Multiculturalism embraces not only
new immigrant groups and asylum
seekers but also the indigenous Sami
population and other minorities. This
field receives high priority at the Oslo
College, where two centres have been
established; one for improved skills in
multicultural schools (SEFI) and one
for multicultural and international
initiatives (SEFIA). Considerable attention is also devoted to multicultural
aspects within the respective courses of
study at the College, such as library
and information. Among the lecturers
speaking at the Nordic one-day conference were representatives from the
Danish Central Library for Immigrant
Literature in Copenhagen and from the
international department of the Stockholm Municipal Library. Norwegian
contributions included a lecture by
Einar Niemi, professor at the University of Tromsø, who looked back on the
history of the indigenous Sami people
and the Finnish community in northern Norway in relation to libraries and
access to knowledge. Other speakers
dealt with the situation in schools and
18
SPLQ:4 2003
Elin Hermansen, head of department
at the Holmlia branch of the Deichman
Library, described the library’s anti-racist work among young people in the
local community.
The 3-year course of study in librarianship is sadly lacking in library-specific material in Norwegian dealing
with multicultural problems (see also
Per Rekdal’s article). The conference
lectures, supplemented by individual
student essays, will therefore be
gathered together in an introductory
book edited by R. Vaagan and intended
for use mainly in the 3-year Bachelor
course of study. I am very glad to report that the Oslo municipal authorities have shown great interest in this
book project in connection with a
scheme entitled The cultural schoolbag.
This national initiative by the Ministry
of Cultural and Church Affairs in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Research is aimed at creating
conditions to help school pupils become familiar with and acquire a positive attitude towards artistic and cultural expressions of all kinds.
In 2005 the International Federation of
Library Associations and Institutions
(IFLA) will be holding its annual congress in Oslo. As many as 4,000 delegates are expected to participate. Preparations for this huge multicultural
gathering of professional librarians
from all parts of the world have been
underway for some considerable time.
The ethical values of IFLA are based on
Article 19 of the Declaration of Human
Rights, giving priority to free and equal
information for all, regardless of nationality, ethnicity, functional ability,
geographical affiliation, gender, language, race, politics or religion. Not
surprisingly, IFLA has its own special
section for library services aimed at
‘multicultural populations’, defined as
ethnic, linguistic and cultural minorities.
An ambitious, basic principle for these
services is that of equal access to both
physical and digital library material
and information in the user’s own
language and relative to the user’s own
culture. In Norway the Deichman Library’s Multicultural Library in particular has done a great deal towards
achieving these aims.
However, few libraries – if indeed any –
have the resources to live up fully to
IFLA’s ambitious principles and multiculturalism would appear to be under
pressure, even in the Nordic countries.
The situation may vary according to
the country and type of library concerned, but if for example one looks at
what the national libraries of the 15
countries of the European Union have
to say in their ‘mission statements’ with
regard to cultural diversity and multiculturalism, one finds little more than
reference to their own national cultural
heritage. The Spanish national library
makes little reference to the Basque
population, while the German national
library completely ignores the question
of Turkish immigrants. Is there any
library, for example, which concerns
Robert Vaagan
Is there any library, for example, which concerns itself with the history and culture of the gypsies?
itself with the history and culture of
the gypsies? In the cultural diversity
that is Paris, there are several special
libraries and research libraries with a
wealth of multicultural material. At the
grass-roots level, however, as I observed
for myself during a stay there in the
summer of 2002, among the 60 public
libraries throughout the city there are
only two branch libraries offering any
form of non-French specialisation. Many minority organisations are fearful of
assimilation within the integration
project known as the European Union.
On the basis of impressions gained
from a number of public libraries in
France and Germany and to some degree also in Sweden and Denmark, it
would appear that multiculturalism
within the EU is looked upon as a
costly and divisive process, while what
we might describe as ‘citizenship-building’ is regarded as cheaper and more
unifying. This trend seems to be gradually discernible also among public
and school libraries in the Scandinavian countries, where up to now a great
deal of work has been done for the
indigenous Sami population, other national minorities, immigrants and
asylum seekers. Sweden even has its
own minister for integration and Denmark its immigration minister. With
regard to immigrants and asylum
seekers Denmark has initiated a 2-year
trial project among four library networks with four appointed coordinators for ethnic minority users. The idea
in Denmark is 1) to strengthen the
position of libraries in the sensitive
area between cultural diversity and the
process of integration, 2) to develop a
model for library services for ethnic
minorities, 3) to create and heighten
motivation and interest in this field
within libraries and library management and 4) to experiment with new
forms of co-operation between library
networks
Danish experience will also be relevant
for Norway, where the Deichman Multicultural Library suffers from an acute
lack of funding. The first nation-wide
survey of professional values among
Norwegian librarians was carried out
in the spring of this year (Vaagan,
Holm 2003). The survey has certain
methodological limitations, but all
counties and types of libraries are represented. Results showed that multicultural library services generally receive low priority compared to other
professional values, although achieving
somewhat higher priority among public library staff than among those working in special libraries and research
libraries. Among the 372 librarians
who participated, the three values
placed at the top of the list were “Free
access to material and information”,
“Contributing to a wider spread of
knowledge” and “Contributing to
improved information literacy”. The
three values assigned the lowest priority were “Creating quality bibliographical material”, “Protecting user
confidentiality” and “Respecting copyright”. “Encouraging cultural diversity”
was placed just above the three lowest
choices. These results cannot be inter-
preted too literally, but the general
picture is that multicultural library
services are given low priority in the
professional code.
It is therefore a welcome development
that the Faculty of Journalism, Library
and Information Science and the
Deichman Library have agreed to cooperate on a research programme in
connection with the Deichman Library’s move to new premises. The Faculty
has initiated several projects to examine possible roles for public libraries
as centres of information, knowledge,
culture and social activities. Professor
Ragnar Audunson will be leader of the
main project, while a separate partproject, “The new Deichman – multicultural arenas”, will be led by Robert
Vaagan.
Robert Vaagan, associate professor
Oslo College of Higher Education
[email protected]
Translated by Eric Deverill
SPLQ:4 2003
19
An extended hand to integration
Interview with director Jens Thorhauge, Danish National Library Authority
With more than a generation’s traditions
and experience behind them, Danish libraries are firmly anchored when it comes to
servicing the country’s ethnic minorities.
Up till now the endeavours have been
concentrated on delivering material and
information in the – in this context – relevant languages, and of course this is
something that must be maintained and
developed. But at the same time the libraries must advance further when it comes
to services and activities that support integration, says Jens Thorhauge, director of
the Danish National Library Authority. In
this interview he advocates a change of
model which offensively and purposefully
places the libraries as essential players in
the integration process.
Strolling down Nyhavn on a beautiful
October afternoon, I spotted one or
two Swedes sitting outside in the sunshine, but otherwise foreigners seemed
to be in an absolute minority. Certainly
this did not seem to be the place for
the country’s immigrants and refugees
to gather together and enjoy the embers of a truly hot summer. Over the
past few years, they have however been
at the very centre of the national political debate and policy-making at government level. The restrictions in relation to the country’s policy on immigrants and refugees, which the government, supported by the extreme rightwing Danish National Party, and also
to a great extent by the country’s largest opposition party, the Social Democrats, have likewise attracted many
comments and fierce criticism from
20
SPLQ:4 2003
abroad. The main aim of the new
Danish immigration policy has been to
curb the number of asylum seekers and
to induce more refugees and immigrants to return to their country of
origin as soon as possible. But another
important objective has been to encourage the integration of those citizens of
ethnic minority who remain in the
country, and to strengthen their opportunities for making headway into
the labour market on an equal footing.
When on this autumn day in Nyhavn
31 E, where the Danish National Library Authority resides in an old and
carefully restored building across the
yard, I have a talk with the director,
Jens Thorhauge, the integration of
immigrants and refugees – and the role
of the libraries in this connection – is
therefore to be our main subject.
The libraries embody various humanistic
concepts which many of us – as indeed
many people abroad – perceive as being
in direct conflict with the immigration
policy being conducted at the moment in
Denmark. How can the libraries avoid
being hitched onto a wagon that travels
in a very different direction to the one
their ideals dictate, was my first question to Jens Thorhauge.
- The present immigration policy is based on the wish of having fewer foreigners coming into Denmark and more
foreigners leaving the country. Judging
by several Gallup polls, the population
as a whole seems to support this course
of action and this is something that I
don’t think the libraries can do very
much about. But I do feel that our minister for integration, Bertel Haarder,
has a valid point when he describes it
as both inappropriate in terms of resources and humiliation in human
terms to fob people off with social
benefits instead of giving them a proper job. So the libraries ought to do
their best to help realise this obviously
positive part of the political aim more
successfully than has been the case up
till now. Namely the part that has to do
with those immigrants and refugees
who prefer to stay here and are given
the opportunity to do so, being integrated in the best possible way in Danish society and on our labour market.
And we also have to make sure that
these people feel welcome in the libraries and are provided with the proper
services.
Speaking for myself, I do think that the
libraries are strongly placed in relation
to the endeavours now going on in
terms of integration. The libraries have
something to offer and a helping hand
towards the integration of refugees and
citizens with an immigration background would be completely in line
with the libraries’ aims.
In a letter to Berlingske Tidende in the
summer when a young Italian tourist
was killed by what many surmised were
second generation immigrants, a children’s librarian from Copenhagen suggested how the libraries might contribute
to a better integration of i.a. young
Per Nyeng
people from ethnic minorities and a
strengthening of Danish ethical values.
But it does require that the libraries are
given sufficient resources, she concludes.
Are the resources as inadequate as she
quite clearly implies?
- Since the 60s we have been developing our library services to immigrants. So we have strong traditions
and also plenty of experience in this
area, and compared to other countries
we have quite reasonable resources and
are able to tackle things systematically.
If you look at Italy and France, you will
see that making material available in
the immigrants’ own language is not
only completely foreign to the politicians, but also to many librarians. If
you want to read – well, you are welcome. Moliére is over there – in French, is
the message. We are however, dealing
with a complex set of problems here
and more resources are needed at any
time. But not only for the usual services. No longer is it sufficient to just
offer access to materials and computers
to the immigrants – we need a change
of model. The libraries must generally
speaking adopt a more progressive and
forceful attitude. They have to support
these groups actively with materials
which will help them to master the
Danish language, increase their knowledge of Danish society and introduce
them in a positive way to Danish thinking and in a dialogue with the users
establish some services and activities.
Lifelong learning for immigrants and
refugees must be given high priority
and locally this will mean more money
on the table. Libraries must get closer
to the immigrants and their needs and
do their utmost to develop new services which will help them solve everyday problems and find their rightful
place in Danish society.
Are the municipalities and the libraries
in general prepared to prioritise such a
change of model?
- I am convinced of it. The support for
FINFO (www.finfo.dk) is a striking
example of this. FINFO’s target group
is both citizens of foreign origin who
have lived in Denmark for quite some
time and those immigrants and refu-
gees who have recently arrived in this
country. Today 139 public libraries have adapted to FINFO locally, and you
can enter any Danish library and get
help in searching in FINFO. The database encompasses eleven languages,
and is developed in close cooperation
with the respective users. What the many ethnic minorities need to know as
citizens in Denmark, they will to a very
great extent be able to find in FINFO.
This information network signifies a
major break-through in library service
to ethnic minorities in Denmark, and
in several libraries this is backed up by
materials, including all types of media
SPLQ:4 2003
21
and inventive mediation and help,
which means that in relation to these
ethnic groups we are close to a realisation of the hybrid library.
Several libraries are well on their way
to carrying out a change of model,
strengthening and bringing about a
development of services in relation to
integration. In many cases with support from the Danish National Library
Authority’s development fund for public and school libraries. Such as at Gellerup library in Århus, Blågårdens library in Copenhagen and in Vollsmose
in Odense – an area with about 78 nationalities represented and where in
connection with the library a learning
centre for adult refugees and immigrants has been established. In these
three spearhead libraries several types
of workshops, clubs, events, informal
language tuition, help with essay-writing, job corner, help with job applications etc. have been introduced, together with other initiatives which
might contribute to better integration
and a building of bridges between
ethnic minorities in the area and the
society where these people should
function and hopefully thrive.
In Vollsmose the library has organised
a club for Muslim girls which now has
attracted almost 130 members. Originally the club was intended for girls
between 12 and 16, but it quickly developed into such an attractive place
that several girls refused to leave the
club when they reached 16. So the age
22
SPLQ:4 2003
limit was abolished, and several Danish
girls have in fact become members.
Here the girls meet a couple of times a
week for discussions, lectures, visits to
companies and all kinds of different
activities and events which will open
their eyes to aspects of Danish life
hitherto unknown to them. For some
of the girls, the library club has more
or less been the only place that they
were allowed to visit, because their
restrictive and concerned fathers felt
that in the library the girls would not
be infected by our secularised society.
Inspired by these enterprising frontrunner-libraries, the Danish National
Library Authority last year launched a
development project where each of the
four county library networking areas in
Denmark were to employ librarians as
integration coordinators. Amongst
other things they are to assist the local
libraries with developing new services
and arranging courses and training
programmes to encourage the integration process. The project period expires
in about a year’s time, but should the
evaluation prove positive, we shall certainly consider extending the period.
Choosing this model is very much inspired by the excellent experience we
have gained from the programme with
children’s cultural coordinators as
agents and promoters of change within
the area of children and culture. This
initiative has already resulted in new
working methods, new forms of mediation and a more intense cooperation
with institutions and organisations
outside the library walls. So it seemed
quite obvious to employ such a model
in relation to the ethnic minorities as
well.
Together with these four integration
coordinators and with DNLA and the
State and University Library in Århus
and its Immigration Library as
anchormen, a campaign is now about
to get started which will be aimed
primarily at the libraries in order to
encourage them to give high priority to
the integration issue. The Ministry for
Refugees, Immigrants and Integration
has at its disposal 160 mil. DKK for the
purpose of integration of foreigners on
the labour market, and we have been
allocated 500,000 for our campaign. As
part of the campaign, the coordinators
will be arranging work-shops nationwide, and a special amount will be set
aside for the libraries to spend on the
preparation of information material
for the end-user. Particularly information about what specific offers the
libraries are able to provide.
The political advisory committee for
the Public and School Libraries’ Development Fund has furthermore approved the amount of 3 mil. DKK from
this fund being reserved for projects
that support the libraries’ quest for
improved integration. This is a course
of action where we shall undoubtedly
witness some resourceful ideas on
behalf of the libraries, and where the
DNLA can then supply the funding,
and we are very open to project propo-
... the Danish National Library Authority last year launched a development project where each of the
four county library networking areas in Denmark were to employ librarians as integration coordinators
sals. When dealing with these proposals
we shall also involve the integration
coordinators.
Do the four integration coordinators
have an ethnic background other than
Danish?
- No. Very few librarians in Denmark
have that. In fact some years ago the
Royal School of Library and Information Science, together with the Danish
Union of Librarians’ special group for
immigration and refugee work, tried to
remedy this situtation via a campaign
targeted at university/college applicants. But it failed completely. At any
rate, we have not succeeded in recruiting library school students from the
ethnic minorities.
But a Danish librarian could well have
just as much in common with a Palestinian refugee as a librarian with a Pakistani immigration background, don’t you
think?
- You may have a point there. But one
thing which the Palestinian and the Pakistani do have in common, and which
is an experience the Dane does not
share, is meeting the Danish society as
a foreigner and that of knowing how it
feels to be in this position. So for that
reason alone it is important for library
staff to include more people with
another background than the purely
Danish one. This does not mean that
they should then primarily be involved
in service to the users from the ethnic
minorities. Like any other librarian
they must be able to deal with all
aspects of library service. But it would
no doubt strengthen the affinity among
the users, if the composition of the
library staff more or less reflects the
population. It is no secret that the
success in Vollsmose is largely due to
the fact, that three members of staff of
foreign origin are working in the front
library and the learning centre. One is
a librarian who graduated from the
Royal School of Library and Information Science, but has roots in Greece,
and the other two originally come from
Bosnia and Bulgaria with a different
educational background. One of them
– a young woman – got her job more
or less by accident, but very quickly
turned out to possess so much talent
and initiative that Odense straight away
gave her a permanent job as cultural
mediator.
Are Danish librarians sufficiently
equipped professionally to fully realise
the change of model advocated by the
Danish National Library Authority?
- Apart from professional qualifications, the task requires insight, imagination and an appreciation of different
values, culture and mentality. A degree
from the Library School does not automatically provide you with these things
– the school cannot provide for everything. It gives the students some general, methodical competencies – but a
great deal has to evolve on the job. And,
of course, also through further studies
– at the Library School or anywhere
else for that matter. But I think that
many librarians have also demon-
strated in a most convincing way that
this type of work suits them down to
the ground. So I have no worries on
that score.
Don’t you feel that many aspects of this
particular library initiative regarding
integration of immigrants and refugees
could be something that other groups in
our society could benefit from?
- I most certainly do, but even so we
have to move in where the need is most
pressing. And I know that some politicians have heated arguments as to how
far the libraries should go. Is it, for example, up to the libraries to help with
job applications? Characteristically,
politicians from municipalities with
many immigrants and refugees are
more inclined to answer yes to this
question. But, of course the libraries
have to work very closely with employment services, the local authorities,
professional organisations, educational
institutions, the business sector and
initiate a fruitful and open dialogue
with these people and any other players
in the field, before setting the wheels in
motion. The libraries must ask themselves: What can we do to encourage
integration that nobody else does? How
can we move a step ahead? What can
we do to support other players in the
field? What kind of niche would be
obvious to carve out for ourselves?
A good example of how the library can
transgress traditional limits for what a
public library should take on, one can
find in Århus, where the libraries for a
SPLQ:4 2003
23
period of time worked with illiterate
Somali women. Some people saw this
as a great paradox, but the point was
that what the library was offering here
was information, and it had to use
whatever means available in relation to
respective target groups. It was quite
simply a question of via conversation
and teaching to explain to these Somali
women what kind of society they had
become a part of.
Luckily, the libraries are able to exploit
the general goodwill that they, to a
great extent, enjoy and the good image
they have in immigration and refugee
circles. They are seen as a place with no
hidden agendas, and compared to the
majority of integration initiatives by
the public authorities that we have witnessed so far, the libraries very much
seem to provide the success stories. It is
also very important that these efforts
are completely in keeping with what
could serve as a banner for the future –
the library as a learning space. This
development is going to accelerate. And
it fits in well with the debate on information competencies and the concept
that at all stages of life – from kindergarten to doctoral level – we need
certain competencies in order to fully
exploit the information resources at
whatever level one finds oneself – and
that everyone should possess these
information competencies.
Are there any surveys that illustrate
what the country’s immigrants and refugees themselves want from the libraries,
and which services they are particularly
interested in?
24
SPLQ:4 2003
- A few years ago the report Frirum til
integration was published which described the immigrants’ use of the
libraries in four major Danish cities
with many immigrants and refugees.
The report showed that these groups
use the library more frequently than
the Danes and that on the whole they
are very happy about the libraries.
They do not borrow as much material
as the Danes, but they use the facilities
and the services on the spot more often. Not least the PCs and the newspaper section.
But something which the libraries probably ought to be more aware of, is the
fact that the difference between individual immigration and refugee groups is
just as great as between one of them
and ordinary Danes. Just as within the
individual ethnic group there might be
considerable differences from person to
person. These people have very different social and cultural backgrounds,
and perhaps there has been too much
stereotyping in this area and not sufficient differentiation in the services
offered.
In your paper at this year’s IFLA conference in Berlin, you made a distinction
between a multi-cultural society and a
society characterised by cultural diversity. Wherein lies the difference?
- In a society with cultural diversity the
different cultures interact and enhance
each other instead of fighting against
each other, so Cultural Diversity is a
positive concept which the libraries can
only support. Unlike the situation in a
multicultural society where individual
ethnic groups and cultures exist and
develop separately – isolated from and
closed in relation to other cultures.
Up till now the libraries have had the
meeting and the dialogue between the
different cultures as a positive framework and goal, and they should continue to do so. There should be access
to a broad spectrum of material in the
immigrants’ native languages, and I am
convinced that the superstructure
function for materials which we have
in the Immigration Library under the
State and University Library, has this
completely in hand. But it is not up to
the libraries to act as regional societies
for the different minorities and in future the libraries have to work harder
on the immigration aspect.
It must also be stressed that the library
provides the visitor with a secularised
space. We have to stand guard over religious freedom, but also over the fact
that the practising of religion is a private matter, and that Danish law takes
precedence over for example the Sharia
legislation. We are not to accept all the
traditions and mechanisms to do with
the suppression of women which the
fundamentalist groups in the immigration and refugee environment try to
maintain via interpretations of the
Koran.
A good initiative with lots of perspective in relation to women from the immigration and refugee fraternity is the
portal, established with support from
the Ministry for Integration under
FINFO with information for women of
They must give and take in the same way as ethnic Danes must do – and in this process the libraries can be an important tool
foreign origin. At the address www.
kvinde.finfo.dk they can find basic information on sickness and health, marriage, children, education, legal matters
and jobs – and much more about women’s conditions in Denmark. Also a
news part and a correspondence column.
At the IFLA conference in Berlin you
also made the point that for the libraries
it is not a question of supporting assimilation, but rather integration. How does
this affect the libraries’ initiatives?
- It means you have to have a balance.
An integration implies that immigrants
and refugees become one hundred percent integrated in relation to the social
rights and duties they have as citizens
of Denmark. They must give and take
in the same way as ethnic Danes must
do – and in this process the libraries
can be an important tool. On the other
hand, it is not the libraries’ task to support an assimilation where the cultural
background and identity of the immigrants and the refugees are suppressed
and where they culturally speaking are
being “Danizised”.
This is in no way in tune with Danish
library tradition and strategy. If we
look to the German philosopher Jürgen
Habermas, we see that he operates with
the concepts of demos and ethnos. The
first refers to the population as a political concept, to the citizen. The latter
to the population as a cultural and
linguistic concept. In relation to demos
there must be full integration and in
relation to ethnos accept and great
respect.
The basic philosophy of the public libraries stresses the concepts of broadmindedness, openness and tolerance.
Could not this lead to conflicts with the
extreme, fundamentalist attitudes expressed by some immigrants and refugees?
- I am sure it could. And if it were to
happen, the libraries must keep cool
and not be intimidated. Visiting the
library is an option and those who
cannot accept that pluralism – religious
and cultural as well as political – is
Alpha and Omega in a Danish public
library, well, they will just have to stay
away – or hopefully one day change
their attitude.
However, I don’t think you are touching upon a major problem here. It is
much more remarkable how the arrival
of these new user groups in many ways
have helped to ‘open up’ the libraries –
both in relation to the close community and its problems and possibilities
and in relation to the world outside
Denmark – and spurred them on to
venture along new paths in mediation,
to transgress former professional and
institutional borderlines and to develop
new internal as well as external working relations. Let us be happy about the
enhancement of Danish culture and
our library system which in many ways
the ethnic minorities are responsible
for.
Interviewer:
Per Nyeng, journalist
[email protected]
Translated by Vibeke Cranfield
Photos by kind permission
from Vollsmose Learning Centre
SPLQ:4 2003
25
The white paper
on culture
ARI – Anti-Racist
Information
ARI – Anti-Racist Information is a special collection of books,
cartoon series and films in several languages for children and
young people. The collection has been built up by the Holmlia
branch of the Deichman Library in Oslo. By actively promoting
its services, the Holmlia library has become a central meeting
point and an important factor in the local community. Holmlia
is an urban district where one third of the population have an
immigrant background. ARI views from different angles the
questions of racism and the neo-Nazi movement, thus providing a historical background to the difficulties we face today.
The collection also contains books for adults. The library
places great emphasis on presenting the contents of the
collection to children and young people through close cooperation with schools and with both public and private organisations. Exhibitions, visits by authors and presentations of
selected literature are among the initiatives pursued. In 2002
the Holmlia branch was chosen as Norway’s “Library of the
Year”.
Sidsel Hindal
[email protected]
Translated by Eric Deverill
Logo: Karijanne Tiltnes
26
SPLQ:4 2003
In August this year the Norwegian
government presented their white paper on culture. An important document, which states the premises for the
cultural sector for the next decade,
2004-2014.
Three main principles are emphasised:
• Quality-based funding of the arts and
cultural expressions
• Cultural diversity as a counterbalance
against the increasing commercialisation of society
• Securing the needs of a broad range
of user groups.
The library sector
According to the government the main
challenge within the library sector is to
continue the ongoing process of making the National Library a centre of
excellence and an accommodator for
research. Another important goal is to
develop “the seamless library services”,
a term and an objective introduced by
the white paper Sources to knowledge
and experience. Archives, libraries and
museums in a society based on information technology (1999-2000). The
overall goal is to establish a co-ordinated network of integrated services
meeting the needs of the users, offering
the same service regardless of which
library she or he visits, thus combining
access to actual and virtual collections
and services. A major step in developing the seamless library services is the
Digital Library of Norway. Finally, the
government will initiate a major report
on several important issues and challenges within the library sector covering public, academic and special libraries. The task of writing this report will
be assigned to The Norwegian Archive,
Library and Museum Authority, and is
considered very important and challenging. Hopefully, such a report may lead
to a major library reform.
The field of literature is of great interest and importance to the libraries.
For more than 30 years the purchase
programmes for literature have been
the main instrument to ensure the
existence and increase of Norwegian
literature. Annually, several hundred
titles are purchased by the Norwegian
state and distributed to the public
libraries. Until now these programmes
have mainly been limited to fiction.
However, the government considers
this a very successful instrument and
therefore recommends an extension in
order to include essays and non-fiction.
For the library users this means
improved library services.
Sidsel Hindal
[email protected]
Nordbok News
Since 1993 Nordbok has published an
annual review, Nordisk Litteratur.
Although possessing the form and
appearance of a periodical, this publication has gradually developed into a
literary yearbook. This year’s edition is
a book of 184 pages, although still retaining the format of a periodical. The
yearbook’s chief editor is Jógvan Isaksen, who comes from the Faeroe Islands and is a lecturer at the University
of Copenhagen. He has written books
on art and literature, also crime novels
for children and adults. In addition to
the chief editor, the yearbook has a
staff of highly-qualified assistant
editors representing all the Nordic
countries. All the text in the yearbook
is printed in parallel in two languages,
English and one or other of the Nordic
languages.
Nordisk Litteratur aims to reflect what
is new in Nordic literature. A large
number of books are presented in
short reviews, while some are given
greater attention. There are also several
articles on trends and developments in
the world of books. This year’s edition
is devoted to literature for the young
and by the young.
A number of articles examine what is
happening among certain writers who
made their debut in recent years. The
Nordic children’s book is considered
from several angles and evidence is
provided to show that Nordic literature
for children is still happily alive and
remains independent in relation to
norms and conventions.
As on previous occasions, this year’s
edition of Nordisk Litteratur gives
prominent place to the nominated
candidates and the final winners of the
Nordic Council’s prize for literature.
This prize, now standing at DKK
350,000, has been awarded every year
since 1962. A panel of judges, consisting of two members from each of
the Nordic countries, chooses the winner from among the candidates nominated by the committee of each individual country. In addition to being a
highly prestigious form of recognition
both for the winners and for those
nominated, this award plays a significant role in maintaining interest and
understanding for the literature of
neighbouring Nordic countries.
The Nordic Council’s prize for literature in 2003 was won by the Swedish
author, Eva Ström, for her collection of
poems, Revbensstäderna. In the introduction to a lengthy article on Eva
Ström’s work the jury’s reasons for
awarding her the prize were quoted “Eva Ström is a singular voice in the
landscape of Swedish poetry. She is a
forerunner for a younger generation of
poets and her work never stagnates.
She tests the limits of the language and
challenges the potential of the word.
Revbensstäderna stands out because of
her striking courage, her intensity and
physicality, as well as the clarity with
which she depicts the human condition
today.”
Nordisk Litteratur offers a unique
opportunity to obtain an overall view
of what is happening today on the
Nordic literary scene. Having now been
published for more than 10 years, the
yearbook also gains significance for
those interested in a wider perspective.
A project to make all editions electronically available has recently been
completed and they are now accessible
on Nordbok’s home page,
www.nordbok.org.
Asbjørn Langeland, director
[email protected]
Translated by Erik Deverill
Keep up with developments in the Nordic public libraries in Scandinavian Public Library Quarterly. Subscription via SPLQ’s homepage www.splq.info.
Scandinavian Public Library Quarterly
Volume 36, no. 4, 2003
SPLQ
Danish National Library Authority
Nyhavn 31 E
DK-1051 Copenhagen K
[email protected]
www.splq.info
4 issues per year
Price: DKK 295,-
Legally responsible publisher:
Jens Thorhauge
Editor-in-chief: Jonna Holmgaard Larsen. [email protected]
Assistant editor: Vibeke Cranfield. [email protected]
Co-editors:
Sidsel Hindal. [email protected]
The Norwegian Archive, Library and Museum Authority
Barbro Wigell-Ryynänen.
[email protected]
Finnish Ministry of Education, Dep. for Cultural Policy
Helena Kettner Rudberg. [email protected]
Swedish National Council for Cultural Affairs
Lay-out: Stæhr Reklame & Marketing
Print: C.S.Grafisk A/S
ISSN 0036-5602
Scandinavian Public Library Quarterly (SPLQ)
is published by the Nordic Public Library Authorities
Correction: SPLQ no.3, 2003, page 25: Illustrator is named
as Birgitte Kolbeinsen. The actual illustrator is Ann Ahlbom
Sundqvist. We sincerely regret this error.
SPLQ:4 2003
27