1. Libraries and
Multiculturalism in Spain
Susana Alegre Landaburu
Sub-Directorate General for Libraries
Coordination. Ministry of Culture, Spain
Developing Public Library Services for the
Future. Helsinki, September 2009
3. Topics
• Spain’s linguistic & cultural diversity
• Immigration in Spain
• Multiculturalism & Accesibility in Libraries
Working Group
• Other Ministry of Culture’s activities
• Multicultural library services in Spain
• IFLA & the Multicultural Library Manifesto
7. Spain’s linguistic diversity
• 17 Autonomous Regions + 2
Autonomous Cities
• Spanish language official in the
whole country
• 5 co-official languages in specific
regions.
8. Spain’s co-official languages
• Galician- in Galicia
• Basque- in Basque Country & the
northern territory of Navarre
• Catalonian- in Catalonia & Balearic
Islands
• Valencian- in Valencian Region
• Aranese- in Catalonia
9. Spain’s linguistic diversity
• Co-official languages may also be
spoken elsewhere without official
status
• Linguistic policies & degrees of
bilinguism are very varied
• Other languages without official
status: Asturian, Leonese, Aragonse,
etc.
10. Immigration in Spain
• Since 2000, one of the largest immigration
rates in the world
• From approx. 40 million inhabitants in 2000 to
46.5 in 2009
• 2009: 5.5 million immigrants, 12 % of the total
population
• 84% have arrived during the last 10 years, 41%
in the last 5
11. Immigration’s distribution
• Regions with the largest percentages:
Balearic Islands (21.7%)
Valencia (17.4%)
Madrid (16.4%)
• Regions with the lowest percentages:
Extremadura ( 3.3%)
Galicia (3.8)
Asturias (4.1)
12. Largest foreign communities
• Romania, Morocco, Ecuador, United
Kingdom & Colombia
• Excluding EU citizens, largest communities
would be from:
Morocco, Ecuador, Colombia,
Bolivia, Bulgaria, China, Argentina,
Perou, Brazil, Dominican Republic,
Poland, Ukraine, Paraguay &
Venezuela
13. Distribution
• 36.1 % Central & South America
• 21 % Western Europe
• 17.7 % Eastern Europe
• 14.85 % North Africa
• Very different distribution in the
Autonomous regions
14. Characteristics and integration
• Spain’s fertility rate lowest in the world in
1996, 1.16. Increasing ageing population
• In 2008:
Fertility rate recovered at 1.46.
20% of births from a foreing mother.
Largest group of foreing mothers in 2008 from
Morocco (26%)
19% marriages: at least one of the spouses
not Spanish
15. Characteristics and integration
• Reasons: better life quality/employment
• Education:
9.3% illiterate or do not hold primary studies
22.5% have higher education
16. Knowledge of Spanish language
• Adult foreing population:
45% Spanish as mother tongue
55% Other languages:
58% speak Spanish very well/well
14% don’t speak Spanish at all
• Children of foreing parents:
91% speak Spanish very well/well
17. Working group
• Multiculturalism & Accesibility in
Libraries. Created in 2006
• Part of Council of Library
Cooperation
• 21 librarians fom different
administrations, regions & library
types: national, regional, academic,
special & public libraries
18. Working group
• Virtual & physical meetings
• Documents such as guidelines
• Advise, Contact & collaboration in
meetings, workshops, etc.
• Projects
Otras lecturas: entre museos &
bibliotecas (Other readings: between
museums & libraries)
19. Working group
• Virtual & physical meetings
• Documents such as guidelines
• Advise, Contact & collaboration in
meetings, workshops, etc.
• Projects
Otras lecturas: entre museos &
bibliotecas (Other readings: between
museums & libraries)
24. Andalucía: Intercultural Libraries
• Started in 2001, part of Plan for Immigration
of Andalucía Regional Government
• To ensure access for the increasing immigrant
population
• To promote the different communities
cultures among the local population
26. Andalucía: Intercultural Libraries
• Agreement between regional and municipality
governments. Each provides different funding
• 1st Intercultural Library: Albaicín (Granada)
27. Andalucía: Intercultural Libraries
• Training in multicultural issues for librarians
• Selection & cataloguing: circulating holdings
• Signalling: pictograms
• Activities:
Guided visits for schools
Library users tranining
Celebration of popular &
religious festivities
28. Andalucía: Intercultural Libraries
Music series
Film series
Storytelling
Spanish courses for foreigners
Website: Andalucía Entreculturas
portal with useful information for immigrants
available in 8 different languages
nine categories
30. Madrid: Open Library
• 1990s: Gypsy minority
• 2005: Biblioteca Abierta programme
(Open Library) starts. Madrid
Regional Government.
• Objective: contributing to the
integration and providing access to
immigrant not having Spanish as first
language.
31. Madrid: Open Library
• to disseminate the knowledge of the
library services among the
immigrants
• to create a Network of Centers of
Cultural Interest (one per
culture/language)
• to promote intercultural knowledge
32. Madrid: Open Library
• to act as intercultural interlocutors
• to enhance the collection in other
languages and to make it useful and
support the immigrants.
• to promote the different immigrant
cultures among the Spanish users, so
as to promote mutual understanding
33. Madrid: Open Library
• Centers of Cultural Interest (CCI):
located in different Madrid libraries,
according to the distribution of the
immigrant population
• CCI: Romanian, Chinese, Russian,
Bulgarian, Polish, Arab
• Bilingual signalling
• 2009: creation of collection of Latin
American holdings
34. Madrid: Open Library
• Intercultural mediators
• Training for librarians
• Activities:
Presentations of books by immigrants
Public readings
Celebration of festivities
Bibliographic exhibitions
Film series
35. Madrid: Open Library
Easy reading workshops
Round tables, conferences
Hispanic-Romanian week, Hispanic-
Moroccan, etc.
Courses of immigrants’ languages
37. IFLA Library Services to Multicultural
Populations Section
IFLA Multicultural Library Manifesto
Available in 14 languages
Tool for implementing multicultural
library services
In process of approval by UNESCO
