Page 32 - BCALA Spring 2018

32 | BCALA NEWS | Volume 45, Issue 2
Hands-On with History in San Antonio
By Caira M. Spenrath, Texas Woman’s University
(Editor’s note: this is an E.J. Josey Scholarship Award essay)
INTRODUCTION & OPERATIONAL ENVIRONMENT For many people, thinking about
a library often comes with the stereotypical idea of a quiet space with stacks of old books and a grumpy librarian that organizes them. As library professionals we know this misconception to be the ultimate untruth. As an aspiring special librarian who has worked with countless books, audiovisual media and personal artifacts, I’ve come to discover how dealing
with items that tie directly to real-world people or events can speak powerfully to the diversity of thought, action and representation that libraries hope to maintain for patron education, inspiration and use.
As the population of the United States becomes increasingly diverse, educational and social boundaries within many regions may not evolve to reflect that
OBJECTIVE 1:
EDUCATION
diversification. My hometown of San Antonio, Texas is extremely diverse— in 2015 the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that almost 75 percent of San Antonio’s population is part of a recognized minority group. It was also estimated that almost half of the city’s population speaks Spanish at home, as well as languages such as German, Tagalog, Arabic, Chinese, French, Hindi and African languages such as Igbo, Swahili and Bantu (Statistical Atlas). These findings indicate
that there is a whole spectrum of diversity in San Antonio! However, a map created by researchers at the University of Virginia Center of Public Service demonstrates that despite such diversity, the racial disparity in education, economic prosperity and residential is stark (Parker), (McNeel).
In this situation, what can a library do to promote diversity and inclusion for the community?
OBJECTIVE 2:
APPRECIATION
How can a library reach out to its community and encourage its patrons’ understanding of the community as a whole?
PROJECT PROPOSAL: “HANDS-ON WITH HISTORY AT THE LOCAL LIBRARY”
To promote diversity and inclusion for my community of users, I propose a summer program that would recruit a diverse group of teens or adults to analyze, digitize and interact with collection items from the San Antonio Public Library (SAPL) system that present unique opportunities to explore
the diversity of race, religion and history in San Antonio’s past and present. The ultimate goal is to educate community members as
to San Antonio’s diversity and to expose them to information that lends to the development of cultural intelligence, empathy and a sense
of social justice. In order to realize this goal, there are three objectives
OBJECTIVE 3:
DISSEMINATION