MULTICULTURALISM AND LIBRARIES IN NIS

Abstract

In a nationally/ethnically heterogeneous, multicultural society, the library assumes the role of a cultural center responsible not only for providing library resources and preserving the cultural heritage of all communities in the environment it serves, but also for designing and implementing programs aimed at promoting multiculturalism, i.e. social integration of members of national minorities. In Serbia, however, a peculiar segregative type of multiculturalism has developed, which insists on the cultural and linguistic diversity of minorities at the expense of strengthening ties with the environment. The consequence of this is that libraries that set themselves the primary task of promoting two or more cultures are rare, especially in relatively homogeneous environments where the presence of minorities is almost unnoticed. The purpose of this research was to examine to what extent the libraries in the area of the city of Niš are working on the promotion of multiculturalism. The obtained results show that there are certain activities, but that much more attention is paid to the culture and creativity of dominant global cultures than to local national/ethnic minorities, and that the work of libraries in Niš secondary schools is particularly neglected.