Multicultural Working Group Meeting – Thursday 28 May, 2020
Via Zoom
Attendees: Joanna Goh (SLNSW); Oriana Acevedo (SLNSW); Shauna Miller (SLNSW); Vicki O’Rourke (Wollongong); Eileen Smith (Wollongong); Vanessa Maino (Ryde); Kathy Yang (Ryde); Katherine Zhu (Randwick); Sharlene Louey (City of Sydney); Joanna Bragg (ACT); Eugenia Ng (Burwood); Leyla Bhathela; Nicole Byrn (Cumberland); Sofia Silvestri (Cumberland); Jadwiga Krejza (Liverpool); Kirsty Plumridge (Cumberland).

Apologies: Kira Paznikov (Central Coast); Alex Mills (Newcastle); Michelle Falson (Canterbury Bankstown); Marianne Mumberson (Justice NSW); Sarah Evans (Central Coast); Catherine Hiscox (Walgett); Sarah Wild (Canada Bay); Lee Burgoyne (Wollongong); Kathryn Baget-Juleff (Shellharbour); Debi Annabel (Camden); Joan Ingram (Singleton); Angie Watson (Newcastle).

Jadwiga was having technical issues logging into the meeting so Shauna chaired in her absence.
Acceptance of the Previous Minutes - Two items from previous meeting were discussed. Oriana spoke about the Cultural Competence Training and how she has had over 300 people register for that training. Covid-19 has provided staff more time to complete training.
Oriana will also be looking at establishing a sub-group to discuss the marketing strategy.
The minutes were accepted by Kirsty Plumridge (Cumberland) and seconded by Oriana Acevedo (SLNSW).
Welcome to new Manager Representative – Nicole Byrn is the new Public Library Manager Representative for the group. She is the Library Manager for Cumberland City Council, and is well qualified as the Cumberland LGA is widely diverse, and geographically spans from Greystanes in the west through to Lidcombe in the East. Nicole also had audio issues but typed in the ‘chat’ that she is excited to be part of this group and looks forward to working with us.
Review of the Working Group Strategy – The group is tracking quite well against the strategy objectives. Oriana has been working with a Tibetan group which is a new and emerging community, to assist with supplying information, and supporting them.
Oriana specifically asked us all to assist with Objective 4 ‘To ensure that multicultural services are recognised as integral to public library services’. All of us are asked to attend these meetings, and then go back to our managers and report what other libraries are doing – help to promote the importance of multicultural services.
Responses to COVID-19 – Many Libraries have been doing Bi-Lingual Storytime sessions online including Liverpool Council and City of Sydney. City of Parramatta have online stories and rhymes in Korean and Chinese.
Below is a few responses from other libraries -
•	At the Junee Library we have continued with our Conversation English with video chat and phone calls. I have found this to be quite effective as members who would previously be quiet and hide in the group are compelled to speak more. I think our members are keen as I get one participant ring me every Wednesday ready to connect. 
This is once a week. Lasts for around 2 hours. Individual video chats and calls to our group members who cannot come into the library.
I have supported by printing documents and delivering them to our CALD group members.
I have assisted in letter writing. (KIM RICHARDS – JUNEE LIBRARY) 
•	Here at Randwick City Library, we have just set up 3 online English conversation classes, starting from 1 June. 
We provide the following eResources:  eMagazines in Chinese, French and Spanish languages; Online English learning resources; Spanish eBooks available on Indyreads.
Other than those, we also try to collate information, translations of updates on Covid-19 and promote them through Facebook and/or link them through our website. 
The services is no doubt rather limited due to the unavailability of resources, such as eBooks and also many of the CALD community members do not have sufficient skills to use online services.  (KATHERINE ZHU – RANDWICK LIBRARY)
•	Our support to multicultural community during the lockdown:
Learning English online:- Clarity English; Ames; Transparent Language; IELTS; Muzzy (children)
EBooks/newspapers/magazines:- IndyReads; PressReader
Online resources that use Google translate to language of choice: Gale; Infobase; World Book; ProQuest – COVID-19 on-line
Online programs:- Bilingual Storytime; Conversation Café 
Posters on COVID -19 safety in the community languages ( we are open as from  the 1st June). (JADWIGA 
Cumberland Council ran two online ‘Ramadan Storytimes’ last week and will begin online English Conversation Classes next term via Zoom.
Kathy Yang from Burwood has been provided ‘Mandarin’ phone support for the community, at designated times throughout the week. She would guide people on how to access online resources.
Liverpool Council also ran an online Ramadan Storytime and attained a list of ‘copyright friendly’ bilingual picture books from Global Language Books.
Jadwiga also alerted us all to the many databases where the language can be easily changed, so our multicultural communities can access full-text articles in their home languages. This includes GALE, EBSCO, INFO-BASE and WORLD BOOK. 
Pressreader is another great online resources that offers journals and newspapers in many languages. And IndyReads has collections in Spanish, Chinese and Vietnamese.
If there are other programs or services for our multicultural communities, could you forward your projects/ideas to kirsty.plumridge@cumberland.nsw.gov.au
Tech Savvy for Seniors 2020/2021 – Telstra and the NSW Government through the Department of NSW Communities and Justice, will continue to sponsor this program and the new grant applications will be sent out in the next few weeks. There will be a few new questions including a libraries ability to deliver ‘online’ training and how each library would like to deliver their training. And libraries can offer training in English or for CALD communities.
If for any reason, a Library is unable to run a program that they have already received funding for, they will be required to refund the money.
The group discussed the problem of delivering a program online to people with very low computer skills or no knowledge at all and Shauna agreed that it is an issue, so it might mean only targeting people with basic computer skills – intermediate level. And if a ZOOM style setting is selected, participants will also be required to have an email address to get log-in details.
One suggestion was made to include short tutorial videos on how to use ZOOM, or other useful tips, and this could be created for different language groups. If anyone has specific suggestions for videos, please let Shauna know.
Multilingual Glossary – The group went through the suggestions made at our last meeting, and made some final adjustments to the list.
Newly Acquired – changed to New Items
iPads – changed to Tablets
Add ‘After Hours Returns’
Delete ‘Library App’
Add ‘Available to loan’
Oriana will assess the list to ensure there is nothing too similar and look at how to fund the adjustments.
Evaluating the LOTE collection at SLNSW – Shauna spoke about some recent training that she had undertaken on diversifying library collections. It was US based, and looked at ways to make your collection more inclusive. It was good, but in reality would take a long time to implement. If you would like the details contact her.
Multicultural Excellence Awards – In many ways COVID has made it easy for the SLNSW to identify who is providing excellent services for the multicultural community, as all of our work has been moved to an online forum over the last couple of months. Please make sure you to send your multicultural program/service responses through to the group.
IndyReads – Ross Balharrie gave us a presentation on the IndyReads e-platform that is getting rolled across the state to all public libraries. The platform features independently published, and self-published titles, including LOTE materials in Chinese, Vietnamese and Spanish. The titles are unique and are great way to diversify a library collection.
To access ‘LOTE’ collections, the sidebar has a language filter which allows you to pick your preferred collection. In addition, the Spanish collection is featured at the bottom in a carousel that highlights specific titles.
Ross showed us the marketplace for selecting items (ODILO), which looks very similar to the Overdrive marketplace. It is hoped, that staff members with language skills, will be able to assist with purchasing the LOTE collections. They will be identified and trained accordingly.
Ross showed us all where the promotional materials and training guides for IndyReads can be found from the SLNSW website – under Public Library Services. Ross will be investigating the possibility of attaining LOTE promotional materials. He will also be looking at placing the language filter in a more prominent space on the page.
Update from Oriana – Oriana is developing a new bookmark to promote multicultural services, and is currently meeting with a designer to discuss options. In 2023, it will be 50 years since the introduction of language bulk loans.
Oriana also introduced Joanna Goh who is the new Bulks Loan Coordinator.
Public Library CALD Services Survey – Katherine Zhu has sent out an email out to the group. Could everyone please fill it out? This is in response to a drop in loans of her own community language collections, to see if there are any trends across NSW libraries as a whole. She hopes to gather the facts on how community language groups are using libraries, to share with the group.
LOTE Ordering 2020/2021 – As a result of many countries still being in lockdown, the LOTE bulk order that is usually done now, will likely be delayed. In most countries there has been a loss of six months of publishing, and will have less choice then in other years. The items come via sea freight too, which will further compound the issue.
If you have any specific title requests of items that have been published in the last 2 years in a LOTE language, please forward your request to Shauna.
Community Consultation / Post Amalgamation Discussion – Shauna and Oriana have noticed that many of the Tech Savvy attendees were not referred to the class from ‘community groups’. They wondered whether people’s roles have become more limited, and if people are still establishing networks with community organisations in the same way. Are the people responsible for purchasing LOTE collections, still networking with LOTE community groups? Or is a separate ‘Outreach’ role looking after this function?
In addition, how are we promoting Tech Savvy – outside of our Social Media channels and e-newsletters, to capture those CALD community members who don’t already use the Library?
Advertising in community language newspapers is invaluable but we should also be promoting through our community groups.
Kirsty (Cumberland) said that her team still looked after both collections and outreach, but can’t deny that amalgamations has created great change, and it takes time to create new networks.

Next Meeting – 
Thursday 27 August 2020 at 10am
Manly Library