According to the School District of Palm Beach County, a total of 146 languages and dialects are spoken by their students. Recognizing the cultural and linguistic diversity of the county, The Palm Beach County Library System has worked to address the following challenges: recruiting qualified bilingual staff, providing information and services in multiple languages; establishing collaboration with local organizations to reach underserved communities; and developing activities that celebrate the vastness of community’s diversity. This work is just as important to the health of our own organization as it is for the community’s ability to thrive.

The Palm Beach County Library System truly embodies the “grow your own” methodology by supporting a culturally and linguistically diverse cadre of paraprofessionals to pursue their Library Science degrees. With a more diverse staff, we have increased our multilingual offerings in computer training, story times, and other activities. We have started to provide in-house translations in Haitian Creole and Spanish for non-English speakers, and we have expanded our repertoire of cultural heritage celebrations and activities to include Black History, Creolophonie, Haitian Heritage, Hispanic Heritage, and Holocaust Remembrance Months as well as World Refugee Day and Diwali.

We have seen an increase in community participation in cultural heritage events. Black History Month 2016 attracted 754 individuals to 31 events. Hispanic Heritage Month 2015 attracted over 962 residents to more than 20 events. In 2016, the Palm Beach County Library System won the Florida Library Association’s Maria Chavez “Libraries Change People’s Lives” Award for activities such as these. More importantly, however, expanding multicultural outreach efforts allows the staff to learn more about the needs of the community. As such, we have built a strong relationship with USCIS as we plan our fourth naturalization ceremony at a library branch.