Bókasafnið


Bókasafnið - 01.07.2018, Side 62

Bókasafnið - 01.07.2018, Side 62
62 Bókasafnið opportunities and are active participants in society in as many fi elds as possible. Libraries as public institutions are obligated to reach out to culturally diverse population. Th e service which should be provided to a culturally diverse society is expected to address four key missions such as information, education, literacy and culture. As the offi cial data shows the biggest immigrant group in Iceland is the Polish community. In order to review library services off ered to them, the Reykjavik City Library and Polish Library in Reykjavik were examined. Th e Reykjavik City Library should be recognized as a multicultural centre in Iceland as it implements various types of multicultural projects, all of them aimed at promoting awareness of pos- itive multicultural values and cultural diversity in Icelandic society. Th e Polish Library in Reykjavik was established in 2008 by the Association of Friends of Polish School in Reykjavik. At that time the Polish community in Iceland grew immensely, and the increased demand for Polish books was recognized by the Polish diaspora. Th e Polish Library in Reykjavik’s main role is to be a local cultural centre for the Polish community. Th e library collection is available to school students, as well as to everybody that is interested in reading books in Polish. Based on the review of the services available to the Polish community, it is apparent that the Reykjavik City Library and the Polish Library in Reykjavik play an important role in maintaining Polish culture and language in Iceland. Both of these institutions try to address the needs of the growing Polish community. Reykjavík City Library supports mother tongue learning for immigrant children and promotes foreign languages used by the ethnic minorities. It off ers many interesting projects targeting immigrants, and the Polish minority group can defi nitely take advantage of and benefi t from the multicultural policy implemented by the library. However, the multicultural nature of Reykjavik is not refl ected in the library collection, as the collection is not suffi cient to meet the reading needs of the Polish community. Th e Reykjavik City Library is not able to build an adequate multilingual collection, as it has very limited fi nancial resources. Th e Polish Library in Reykjavik is intended only for users interested in library materials and services in the Polish language. It should be emphasized that the Polish Libr- ary works as a school and public library at the same time. Th is is especially important because the number of Polish children born in Iceland is increasing every year. Th erefore, the Polish Library in Reykjavik needs to serve not only as a library, but also carry out an educational mission as well. Such an approach is compatible with the guidelines of the IFLA/UNESCO Public library manifesto and the IFLA/ UNESCO School library manifesto. Th ese documents state that a library should be a local gateway of knowledge. Such an institution is expected to guarantee conditions for lifelong learning and cultural development for local comm- unities. Th e Polish Library satisfi es the reading needs of the Polish minority to a greater degree than the Reykjavik City Li- brary. However, Polish users can participate in various multicultural projects implemented by the city library. Libraries are important cultural institutions which provide migrants and refugees with assistance and guidance, making the diffi cult process of adaptation much easier for both sides. As centres for culture, information, learning and meeting, libraries have an important role to play in a multi- cultural society. Multicultural libraries should be supported and developed in all countries where multicultural societies can be found. Icelandic libraries as public institutions must evolve and be involved in multicultural issues in order to contribute towards social inclusion of immigrants. Furt- hermore, equal access to library services is a fundamental human right. Increasing funding is crucial to expanding collections and services. Lokaritgerðin mín fj allar um siðferðileg álitamál í upp- lýsingaþjónustu og ber hún yfi rtitilinn “I want to help ev- erybody”. Vettvangur rannsóknarinnar var borgin Columbus í Ohio-ríki í Bandaríkjunum þar sem ég hafði verið búsett um nokkurra ára skeið. Ég hef mikinn áhuga á siðfræði og heillaðist mjög af tilkomumiklum almennings- og rann- sóknarsöfnum í Columbus. Því fannst mér tilvalið að tengja þetta tvennt í lokaverkefni og kanna eðli þeirra siðferðilegu áskorana sem fagfólk í upplýsingaþjónustu stendur frammi fyrir og hvernig tekist er á við þær. Einnig skoðaði ég formlegar siðareglur stéttarinnar (einkum siðareglur American Library Association (ALA)) og kannaði hvort upplýsingafræðingar teldu mikilvægt að hafa slíkar reglur - hvort þeir þekktu þær efnislega og hvort litið væri til þeirra við úrlausn “I want to help everybody” Hilma Gunnarsdóttir er með BA og MA próf í sagnfræði, auk MIS prófs í upplýsingafræði frá Háskóla Íslands. Hún starfar sem upplýsingafræðingur á þjónustu- og miðlunarsviði Landsbókasafns Íslands - Háskólabókasafns.

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