{"id":21,"date":"2026-07-28T21:40:37","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T21:40:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/hyperlinkedviv\/?p=21"},"modified":"2026-07-28T21:40:37","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T21:40:37","slug":"inclusive-library-spaces-who-feels-welcome","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/hyperlinkedviv\/2026\/07\/28\/inclusive-library-spaces-who-feels-welcome\/","title":{"rendered":"Inclusive Library Spaces: Who Feels Welcome?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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“Serving the Underserved” by Catharine Bomhold<\/p><\/div>\n

Libraries provide a plethora of services. They not only hold a collection of materials for patrons to access, they also provide community. Peter Block\u2019s definition of communities as \u201chuman systems given form by conversations that build relatedness\u201d gives a new perspective to a librarian\u2019s job. They do not just curate materials, they also curate a sense of belonging and social connections.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Underserved and Excluded Communities<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Stephens\u2019 (2016) concept of \u201creaching all users\u201d stood out to me and made me think about who uses the library and what type of people our community truly contains. It\u2019s easy to design programs for people we already know will show up, but it\u2019s harder to serve to those who may feel like they don\u2019t belong in libraries, including teens, immigrants navigating a language barrier, and the unhoused population. Lauersen\u2019s (2018) article on belonging in libraries reiterates this idea. He talked about how people may have hidden biases against marginalized and underserved groups based on privilege and stereotypes. Libraries are places that, in theory, should be free from this type of mindset. As librarians, we must be aware of how our upbringing may have an effect on our services and interactions. Tareq Nurul Hasan (2022) quotes Angela Savage, CEO of\u00a0 Public Libraries Victoria (PLV), stating that libraries are \u201cfree, non-judgemental, trusted, and accessible to everyone\u201d. Libraries are safe spaces where people who may face discrimination elsewhere, can feel welcome.<\/span><\/p>\n

Libraries and Wellbeing\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Having library work experience myself, the idea of the library being a safe, non-judgemental space really resonated with me, especially in the context of health and wellness. Libraries can help those struggling with mental health or addiction cope, as they provide calm environments and non-judgemental interactions with others (Hasan, 2022). Surveys conducted by PLV and State Library Victoria on 34,000 library users showed that 92% consider the library a safe place, and 60% said that the library contributed to their mental health and wellbeing. To further this study, Greenwood (2022) states that \u201clibraries can play a critical role in improving some of the determinants of health\u2026 through programs and services that equip communities with the necessary skills, information and confidence needed to manage their own health and wellbeing.\u201d Libraries can act as a bridge, and connect the community with health and wellbeing organizations and professionals.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Inclusive Efforts in the Library<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

With so many people relying on the library for various reasons, we as library professionals must serve our communities with understanding and compassion. It is important to bring qualities such as empathy, emotional intelligence, and compassion into work (Garcia-Febo, 2018). We must also be intentional in our services and interactions, make an effort to notice the excluded groups within our community and actively rethink our services and policies to be more inclusive of all community members.<\/span><\/p>\n

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References<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Garcia-Febo, L. (2018, November 1). Serving with love: Embedding equality, diversity, and inclusion in all that we do. <\/span>American Libraries.<\/span><\/i> https:\/\/americanlibrariesmagazine.org\/2018\/11\/01\/serving-with-love\/<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Greenwood, C. (2022). <\/span>Healthy library, healthy life.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Hasan, T. N. (2022). Free, non-judgemental, accessible. <\/span>SBS.<\/span><\/i> https:\/\/www.sbs.com.au\/language\/bangla\/en\/article\/free-nonjudgmental-and-accessible-how-your-local-library-is-a-sanctuary-of-health-and-wellness\/t15blzsi9<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Lauersen, C. (2018). Do you want to dance?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/christianlauersen.net\/2018\/06\/07\/inclusion-and-belonging-in-libraries-and-beyond\/<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Stephens, M. (2016). Reaching all users. In <\/span>The heart of librarianship<\/span><\/i> (p. 41)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Libraries provide a plethora of services. They not only hold a collection of materials for patrons to access, they also provide community. Peter Block\u2019s definition of communities as \u201chuman systems given form by conversations that build relatedness\u201d gives a new perspective to a librarian\u2019s job. They do not just curate materials, they also curate a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":873,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","post-preview"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/hyperlinkedviv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/hyperlinkedviv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/hyperlinkedviv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/hyperlinkedviv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/873"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/hyperlinkedviv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/hyperlinkedviv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/hyperlinkedviv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21\/revisions\/23"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/hyperlinkedviv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/hyperlinkedviv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/hyperlinkedviv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}