Difference and equal dignity : a study of the International Library and its visitors from a perspective of diversity

The underlying purpose of this study is to see whether a library focused solely on providing literature in other languages than Swedish serves as a unifying, integrating force, or as an agent for division and exclusion. The study focuses on the International Library in Stockholm. The authors have created a profile of the visitors of the selected library, concerning their characteristics, their library habits and their perceptions of the International library. This profile has then been compared with the staff’s perception of the visitors as a group. To assemble data in order to create a profile of the visitors, a survey has been conducted looking into factors such as age, language, native country, educational level, reasons for coming to the library and attitudes towards the library. A small group of the staff, five persons, have been interviewed to inquire about their attitudes towards and perceptions of the visitors, as well as attitudes towards issues such as multilingualism, and their estimation of the importance of and right to literature in ones mother tongue. The authors found that the visitors are a very heterogeneous group of people, with various backgrounds and language skills. A larger number than expected were Swedish speaking and ethnic Swedes. The staff’s impression of the visitors was largely in accordance with our findings. The staff expressed a strong belief in the idea that access to literature in one’s mother tongue can actually be helpful when one is trying to settle in a new country. Although other libraries may be reluctant to handle literature in foreign languages, the staff of the International Library feels that their expertise helps to ensure the inhabitants of the greater Stockholm area good quality and access to literature in many languages.Uppsatsnivå: