All together now: How the South Australian Public Library Service assures access and equity for diverse language and cultural groups

Abstract

Australia is a country of migrants and for 46.2% of the Australian population, at least one parent was born overseas. South Australian indicators do not fall far from the national statistics. The South Australian Public Library Network (SAPLN) believes that all members of the community should have access to materials which meet their needs. This is regardless of their language, cultural background or country of origin, including access to materials in Languages other than English (LOTE), whether this be for the purpose of language and cultural maintenance, language learning or to enrich the cultural and linguistic diversity within South Australia. Commencing in 2014, the One Library Management System (1LMS) was implemented across more than 130 South Australian public library branches. This system allows library customers to search for and access items via a single state-wide catalogue and have these items delivered to their local library free of charge. This approach provides enhanced access to the Community Languages (CL) collection. In recent times migration patterns in South Australia have changed, resulting in the introduction of many new languages and migrants settling in diverse locations. This change, occurring at the same time as the implementation of 1LMS, prompted a review of the CL collection and programs offered at Public Libraries of South Australia (PLSA). Outcomes of the review - current CL collections and their use - form the body of this paper.