Ethnic librarians must break out of the box and dare to imagine and create a new life for our communities. The Benton Foundation report, Buildings, Books and Bytes, states that there is greater support for libraries from minority populations. Minorities are also more supportive of the library's role to provide access to on-line resources. This support should be leveraged to increase the bargaining power for librarians when requesting funds for enhanced services. Grassroots approaches are effective.
Successful politicians listen and respond to the collective voices of constituents they represent.
Individually we must be involved in our communities. We must become joiners. We must also become promoters of libraries and describe the library's competencies and benefits to the community. We need to become politically savvy and join others in fighting legislation aimed at curtailing the rights of ethnic populations. We must build coalitions within our own ethnic groups as well as with society at large.