Use of media in promoting diversity in school libraries in Osun State, Nigeria

Abstract

The imperative for an incursion into the aspect of diversity in school libraries in Osun State hinges on the belief that our schools are culturally diverse places that have students and staff who represent varieties of race, culture, ability, sexual class. There is therefore the need to factor all these differences into the processes selection, acquisition, display and dissemination of information materials either in the physical form in the library catalogue or books on the shelves or in the media such as Facebook, Youtube, WhatsApp, Twitter, Blog, email, telegram, Linkedin, Flicker and so on. The inclusion of diversity in the library routines is essentially for critical thinking and enabling environment for development of the people such that they are not alienated and it is also akin to SDG4 which has to do with inclusion in today’s diverse society, providing opportunities for diverse opinions and worlds through books is just one of the things school libraries can do to help their students. All school libraries can get started by analyzing their student population and analyzing the corresponding diversity of the school library collection. Another way are personal research, hashtags, like weneediversebooks, browsing collection lists, and reading reviews. In order to serve all student, school librarians must be ready to advocate and promote diversity within their own environment placing diverse books in the hands of students helps develop empathy and understanding, allowing students to get to know those around them. This helps students to grow and understand each other and themselves.