University of North

Carolina in
Greensboro: School
of Library and
Information Studies
By: Ossama
Hassanin MLIS
PROGRAM STUDENT

AN ACTION RESEARCH
ON THE INCLUSION OF
LIBRARY COLLECTION TO
MEET STUDENTS
DIVERSITY : ARABIC
LANGUAGE AS EXAMPLE

Introduction:
As a cataloger librarian and an Arab student at the School of
Library and Information studies in University of North Carolina in
Greensboro (UNCG) it was normal to try to fi nd whether the
universitys library has an Arabic collection or not, and the result
was almost not. Diversity in collection was represented and
discussed as an ethical imperative and it was strongly mentioned
in the ALA code of ethics. As I believe that UNCGs library is a
great library that has a very massive collection and a strong
organized system that tries to reach the suffi ciency of
the library resources and to meet the level of satisfaction on the
library services. I will try in the following research to suggest some
actions which could be eff ective and effi cient in helping the Arab
students be more satisfi ed with the Arabic collection. These
suggestions could also be used as guides to be applied for other
languages that have the same level of lack of language materials
in the library.

Methodology:
A random sample represents about 25% of the number
represented by the UNCG International Research offi ce. Offi cial
data collected from the same offi ce and from UNCG Lirarys
Research and Development Offi ce. Data will be analyzed in the
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light of the data collected from all sides. Librarys polemics and
point of view will be considered and discussed as well.

Facts and Findings:

UNCG Libraries include Jackson Library and the Harold
Schiff man Music Library in the School of Music. The librarys
catalog also includes the holdings of the Teaching Resources
Center , the Interior Architecture Library , and the Multicultural
Resource Center . The University Libraries collections include over
1.2 million printed books, federal and state documents, and other
print material. These libraries provide access to over 65,000
electronic journals and off er nearly 650,000 eBooks. They also
have almost 200,000 streaming fi lms and audio fi les. We added
more than 41,000 items to the collections during the year (Walter
Clinton Jackson Library 2015). UNCG is one of the top three state
institutions in terms of students diversity. 2015/2016 report shows
44.5% of undergraduate students with ethnic minority and 24% of
graduate students with ethnic minority.

In fall 2016 data shows that Arab students in UNCG are 90 out
of 19,653 students from 9 diff erent Arab nationalities, which
represent 0.04% of the total universitys enrollment. This
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percentage is right in terms of nationalities; however, it is dubious

that it is representing the total Arabic speaking students. The
university record does not refer to Arab speaking students from
non-Arab countries. Unfortunately, the university does not hold a
language fi eld in its students data. Accordingly, the only available
method could be used as a reference for students spoken
languages is their nationality records which could be used as an
indicator but not an accurate fi gure to the Arab speaking students
percentage (Herring 2016).

UNCG library collection does not include any Arabic book

except a collection of electronic resources and some printed books
in both English and Arabic (Houk 2016). Electronic resources data
bases are collected as a batch. That means that the Arabic
collection of electronic resources could be collected within that
batch. On the other hand, although the English Arabic small
collection could be read by the Arab user that does not mean it
was collected for the Arab user. What proves that is the fact that
there is no single full Arabic language record in the librarys
catalog?

As diversity is an essential component of a civil society, the

Association for College & Research Libraries (ACRL) issued its
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diversity standards. The fourth standard refers to the development

of collections, resources, and services as follows: Librarians and
library staff shall develop collections and provide programs and
services that are inclusive of the needs of all persons in the
community the library serves. Considerations have to be taken
according to that standard such as: purchasing in equitable basis
and refl ecting the cultural heritage, cultural backgrounds, and
social identities of the librarys constituent populations (American
Library Association 2012).

There are some facts which have to be considered to avoid

excessive blame the UNCG library. Firstly, the library has a
collection of Arabic language resources as electronic resources
which could be used by students. Secondly, UNCG does not have a
branch of Arabic or Middle East studies. Finally, Arab students in
general do not ask for Arabic collection as will be shown later.
Although it is not enough, it could be used as a kind of excuse.

Survey and Survey Analysis:

A survey fi lled in by a random sample of 21 Arab students 62%
of them females and the rest are males, 90% of them under the
age of thirty and the rest are under forty shows the following facts:

Only 71.4% tried to search the library catalog for Arabic

materials,
90.9% of these students did not fi nd any Arabic materials

related to their search query,

93.3% of these students did not inform the librarys
management that they do not fi nd Arabic materials related

to their search query,

95.2% of the sample like to read, watch media or listen to

Arabic materials,
81% of them would like to fi nd scholarly Arabic materials to

support their studies,

80% like books, 35% like magazines and electronic

resources, and 55% like audiovisual materials,

80% like to read in cultural subjects, 50% like religious

subjects and 45% like scientifi c subjects,

The students alternate resources for Arabic materials were:
personal collection 33.3%; Internet 95.2%; public libraries
9.5%; watching Arabic TV channels 47.6%, listening to
Arabic podcasts 42%.

By these fi gures, we can fi nd the following main facts:

Although the richness of UNCG library collection, the Arabic

collection is very poor (90.9% do not fi nd materials related

to their search queries),

Most of Students do not ask for Arabic collection (93.3%),
Most of students like to fi nd Arabic collection (95.2%),
Cultural subjects are the most important (80%),

Scholarly Arabic collection would be important for the

students research (81%),

Students have alternate resources for Arabic materials
(internet 95.2% and TV channels 47.6%),

Summary of the Surveys facts: Poor Arabic collection for Arab

students who like to fi nd cultural and Scholarly Arabic materials,
they do not ask the library for more resources but use alternative
resources.

Analyzation of these facts: The library needs to do more in

terms of diversifi ed collection. Arab Students do not express their
needs and the library does not try to reach these needs. These
students spend much of librarys time outside the library; as a result
they do not integrate in the librarys community and communicate.
The library do not only have to collect Arabic materials but also to
provide other Arabic resources like internet access in Arabic, TV and
radio channels, and accessibility for public librarys resources.

Suggested Actions:
I suggest that UNCG libraries considering the following actions:
1. The library need to collect a variety of Arabic materials
specially textbooks, Multimedia Resources.

2. Library surveys to measure students needs and satisfaction

about the collections diversity has to be distributed to
students from time to time. The Universitys International
Students Offi ce has to play a role measuring students
satisfaction and assemble their suggestions.
3. Some of the librarys computers have to be ready for Arabic
script writing in terms of keyboards and language options.
4. A TV room ready with Arabic media from time to time could be
a good advantage. Arabic materials subtitled with English
translation could be a good way of informing students from
other nationalities knowing about the Arab world and help in
integrating the campus community.
5. Cooperative programs between UNCG libraries and Greensboro
public libraries in terms of collection management and
exchange would be great. Also, asking Greensboro public
library for mobile library in the compass two or three times a
week would be a great advantage.

According to the facts mentioned above, I think that UNCG

library would have to add some library materials that could
represent the percentage of Arab students which is not too high.
This collection has to represent, but not limited to the Arab
cultural heritage, backgrounds, and social identities.

Discussion:
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Academic library is considered the heart of any university. It

represents the community and it is supposed to defend the ethical
rights of this community. Diversity is considered as one of the main
ethics that being defended by libraries. It is so crucial for libraries to
be considered as a model in applying the ethics it defends. These
ethics should be clear in its buildings, collections, employment, and
all available resources.

Suggestions for future research:

It is very important to apply the same research for all
minorities in UNCG to fi nd out their special needs. It is also very
important to get a survey for students subjects preferences to be
able to get accurate collection and to use the library resources
effi ciently.
Bibliography
American Library Association. Diversity Standards: Cultural Competency for
Academic Libraries (2012). 2012. http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/diversity
(accessed November 20, 2016).
Herring, Alice E., email by Ossama Hassanin. Re: Arab Language Speaking
Students in UNCG (November 22, 2016).
Houk, Amy Harris, email by Ossama Hassanin. Arabic Language Collection at
UNCG (November 27, 2016).
Walter Clinton Jackson Library. Fast facts - Statistical Highlights. 2015.
https://library.uncg.edu/info/fast_facts.aspx (accessed April 9, 2016).

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Research Results Appendix:

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