Connecting with South Asian Customers: Developing Cultural Awareness _______________________________ OLA Super Conference – 2008 Session 1003 Sarala Uttangi Brampton Library 2008 Brampton Library

2 Objectives  What do you and your staff need to know to meet the needs of customers from other cultural backgrounds?  Develop your awareness of cultural groups within your community and build strategies to provide better customer service and synergies among groups.  Benefit from Brampton Public Library's work with the South Asian cultures in creating a model for your library.

3 Creating a Model for your Library  Multicultural Philosophy  Collections  Programs and Services  Outreach and Partnerships  Staff and Training

4 Demographic Trends in Brampton  Top country of origin of immigrants in Brampton  The single largest immigrant group in Brampton are from India (45.3%)  Top three largest visible minority groups in Brampton  South Asians, Blacks and Filipinos.  Top 3 religions in Brampton (after Roman Catholics and Protestants)  Sikhs (10.6%) Hindus (5.4%) and Muslims (3.5%)  Top three increases in language speakers between 1996 and 2001 census  Urdu-speakers (150.9%), Punjabi-speakers (113.8%) and Spanish-speakers (77.6%) 2001 Canada Statistics (Social Planning Council of Peel)

5 Region of Peel  Peel is one of the fastest growing regions in Canada, with over one million people (1,159,405).  South Asians are the fastest growing community  According to the 2001 census, immigrants make up 43.1% of Peel’s population  A new statistics Canada study projects that by 2017 people of South Asian origin will be Toronto region’s most populous visible-minority group, more than 1 million will be South Asians which is up from 488,000 in 2001

6 South Asia Bangladesh Bhutan India Maldives Nepal Pakistan Sri Lanka

7 Country Profile CountryPopulationMajor Languages Major Religion AreaCapital India1.1 billion (UN, 2005) Literacy 61% Hindi, English and 21 other official languages dialects Hindu 81.4%, Islam 12.4%, Christian 2.3%, Sikh 1.9% Buddhism, Jainism 2% 3.1 million sq km New Delhi Pakistan161.1 million (UN, 2005) Literacy 48.7% Urdu, English, Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashto, Balochi Islam 97% (Sunni 77%, Shiite 20%); Christian, Hindu, and other 3% 796,095 sq km Islamabad Bangladesh152.6 million (UN, 2005) Literacy 41.1% Bengali, Urdu, Hindi Islam 85%, Hindu 12%, other 3% 143,998 sq km Dhaka Sri Lanka20 million (UN, 2005) Literacy 90.4% Sinhalese, Tamil, English Buddhist 70%, Hindu 15% Christian 8% Islam 7% 65,610 sq km Colombo

8 West Pakistan East Pakistan India Blend of Religion, Language and Culture

9 Religion  Hinduism  Islam  Sikhism  Buddhism  Christianity

10 Cultural Tips  Norms, Practices and Values  Communication Styles  Cuisine  Fashion and Film (Bollywood )

11 Libraries in South Asia  National Library  Academic Library  Special and Scientific Library  Government Library  Public Library  Local Community Library

12 What do you and your staff need to know to meet the needs of customers from other cultural backgrounds?  Newcomers to Canada face many challenges in settling and adjusting  Connecting With Library Customers

13 Develop your awareness of cultural groups within your community  Peel Community Information Database   211Ontario.ca   Settlement.Org   OCASI.Org 

14 Conclusion If library staff don't become culturally competent to effectively serve all the people in ways that are meaningful to them, we will become meaningless!! (Journal of Library Administration, 9/1/2001) Shukriya and Namaste!!

15 Contact Information Sarala Uttangi Information Services Coordinator Multicultural Services Brampton Library ext