Public Library Services to Canadian Ethnocultural Communities: An Overview

SERVICESTO ETHNOCULTURAL MINORITIES emerged as one of the major trends in librarianship during the 1970sand in the coming decade will become a regular service feature in all public libraries which serve a population of mixed ethnic background. Obviously, the scope and type of services to be developed in each country will depend on the composi-tion and background of the communities to be served. Although the purpose of this article is to give an overview of the Canadian scene with respect to library services in the nonofficial languages, it is impossible to present a clear picture without placing the subject in a historical and demographic context. The author also wishes to give recognition to those individuals from the library world and from the ethnic groups whose concern and efforts laid the cornerstones of present structures. Historical Background Canada, like its southern neighbor, is a nation of immigrants. With the exception of the native people, Canadians derive their origins from all corners of the world. According to official sources, Canada contains “over eighty ethnocul tural groups, and practically every major race, creed, and culture is represented in it.”l Because Canada never officially accepted a “melting pot ” approach to immigrants, and because multi-culturalism within a bilingual framework was recognized in 1971as the formal governmental policy,2 the Canadian citizenry represents a color