AQW 4552/17-22
Ms Kellie Armstrong
Alliance Party
Strangford
Tabled Date: 05/06/2020
Answered On Date: 24/06/2020
Priority Written: No
Question:
To ask the Minister for Communities what actions she will take, and has taken, to ensure that Libraries NI builds upon its equality scheme by proactively including books and online resources promoting equality and equity for marginalised groups that are in urgent need of representation, such as black and minority ethnic communities, by specifically stocking resources on racism, colonialism and slavery.
Answer:
I will continue to encourage Libraries NI to build on their ongoing work promoting inclusion, particularly with reference to supporting equality and equity for all marginalised groups. Libraries NI’s vision is ‘a visible, accessible and inclusive library service at the heart of communities, enhancing lives and valued by all’. Libraries NI’s stock policy outlines that Libraries NI will provide access to a wide range of quality resources to meet the needs of the entire community. The provision of, and access to, stock in a wide range of formats supports Libraries NI in promoting lifelong learning and creativity and fostering a better understanding of a shared community. In doing so it assists with both fostering a more equal society and developing a shared society that respects diversity. Libraries NI stock collection contains over 1,900 non-fiction titles on Civil Rights, Racism, Slavery and Discrimination. The titles include books for children, items in the curriculum support collections aimed at secondary school children, official publications, academic studies and general histories. In addition, there are many fiction titles that address issues of representation. Such titles are used in themed collections to support national promotions e.g. Black History Month, Holocaust Memorial Day as well as Libraries NI initiatives. Libraries NI collections hold titles by established and contemporary authors which look at the themes of race, diversity, colonialism and immigration. These works (along with other titles) are featured across the year both in branch promotions and online collections. An example of these promotions is the BBC campaign “The novels that shaped our world” in which 100 novels were divided into ten themes, one of which was identity. As part of this promotion, Libraries NI, featured these books in branches, online and with selected reading groups and via a podcast. Libraries NI staff attend information and networking forums and work collaboratively with other voluntary, community and statutory organisations. Specifically, the Good Relations and Targeting Social Exclusion Team within Libraries NI work closely with the following organisations: Community Relations Council – Good Relations Week and Decade of Centenaries Belfast Migrant Forum, Barnardo’s and the Red Cross Beyond Skin and Bryson Intercultural to provide multicultural information and musical events including Culture Day English Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Groups including Adult and Children’s groups in Woodstock Library Conway Education Centre to provide creative writing groups for teenagers and younger children from refugee communities Libraries NI is committed to marketing its services effectively and efficiently to ensure widespread uptake and the Libraries NI Equality Action Plan (Jan 2019) includes the target ‘to develop, deliver, facilitate and support programmes and activities which respect and celebrate cultural diversity and contribute to community cohesion including the provision of, and access to, material on the theme of cultural diversity and/or community cohesion’.
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