‘Cultural Competence is for Everyone’: Cultural Competence in the United States Library and Information Sector. Is It Relevant to Australian Libraries?

Abstract

Cultural competence is a capacity that enables professionals and organisations to work effectively in cross-cultural situations. It has been adopted in fields such as health, social work, psychology, education and information. Library and information science in the USA has responded to growing diversity in the population by incorporating cultural competence into policy, education and practice. This article traces how this has occurred, likening the process to a learning cycle or virtuous circle. Similarities in the Australian context suggest that Australian libraries could usefully develop cultural competence by drawing on experience in the USA, to underpin the formation of a virtuous learning circle in this country.