M.Inf. / South African libraries are enterprises where diversity is fast becoming the norm. Many South African Librarians work in libraries where the need to educate staff to respect human cultures in all their variety has been identified as a significant institution goal. Acquiring knowledge and understanding of culture factors is the key to successful communication across cultures. This study concentrates on how library managers should communicate with employees in an inter-cultural environment as well as how employees should communicate amongst themselves. Communication barriers between employees in libraries have been discussed and it was concluded that a mastery of communication skills which includes an understanding and appreciation of cultural differences is vital for South African libraries of all colours and cultures. How to go about creating a multicultural library was discussed and it was emphasised that library managers should take positive and measurable actions to transform their libraries into multicultural enterprises. The empirical study done at the Johannesburg Public Library indicated that Black South Africans would like White South Africans to learn at least one Black language in order to facilitate communication. Although not one White South African interviewed in this study spoke a Black language, they experienced a certain degree of difficulty in understanding or interpreting a Black's English or Afrikaans. With regard to non-verbal communication, eye contact was equally important to both groups. Being on time was definitely more important to Blacks than Whites. In terms of vocal quality, Whites found Blacks to speak too loudly and were inclined to shout. In terms of world views, 80% of Blacks followed an Afrocentric world view and 90% of the Whites followed a Eurocentric world view. The majority of Blacks favoured intuitive thinking, 30% confirmed that analytical thinking was the only way to think so as to arrive at a logical deduction. The question on stereotypes pointed to Blacks mainly thinking of Whites as independent. Guidelines for effective inter-cultural communication in South African libraries are provided.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uj/uj:10174 |
| Date | 12 September 2012 |
| Creators | Mhlari, Lethabo Patience |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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