Breaking Down Cultural Competency

Times have changed and so have communities. You see it all the time. Well-intentioned staff try to do the work of bridging the gap between libraries and communities. They are a start, but librarians need to go deeper. They need to move beyond cultural competence, which is an easy way out because it prioritizes knowledge over practice. To move beyond that, library staff should create as many opportunities as possible to learn about communities of color on a deeper and ongoing level. This means moving from the superficial to building authentic and trusting relationships. One way to do that and build meaningful relationships with community is to replace cultural competence with culturally enriching practices. Librarians need to strive for better. They need to create spaces and programs where youth and families of color have an active role in planning and providing feedback to libraries that inform the design of culturally relevant and enriching experiences.