Threadjacking!

[The Legendary Shark]

Maybe it's because libraries are provided by the state and the state likes to remind us all, at every possible opportunity, about our differences so that it can protect us from one another.

Or maybe they just want to see what the different ethnic groups like to read so that they can provide an adequate range of reading material in various locations.

Or maybe they're just nosey.

(It's the first one...)

[von Boom]

Why does joining a library in the UK require me to declare my ethnicity?

Are you sure it's actually required?
It's usually so they have data to illustrate their reach within the community. Postcode, age, gender and ethnicity are all useful for them to know.

Take a look at the form online. Ethnic origin is a required box.

https://librarycatalogue.essex.gov.uk/iguana/www.main.cls?surl=useractivities#GuestRegistration=1

[JamesC]

Why does joining a library in the UK require me to declare my ethnicity?

Are you sure it's actually required?
It's usually so they have data to illustrate their reach within the community. Postcode, age, gender and ethnicity are all useful for them to know.

Take a look at the form online. Ethnic origin is a required box.

https://librarycatalogue.essex.gov.uk/iguana/www.main.cls?surl=useractivities#GuestRegistration=1

But one of the options is 'prefer not to say'.

Trust me, there'll be a big chart somewhere where all this data is collated and the local library managers will be hoping that it's enough to keep their services off the chopping block next time the council makes a round of cuts.

[von Boom]

Why does joining a library in the UK require me to declare my ethnicity?

Are you sure it's actually required?
It's usually so they have data to illustrate their reach within the community. Postcode, age, gender and ethnicity are all useful for them to know.

Take a look at the form online. Ethnic origin is a required box.

https://librarycatalogue.essex.gov.uk/iguana/www.main.cls?surl=useractivities#GuestRegistration=1

But one of the options is 'prefer not to say'.

Trust me, there'll be a big chart somewhere where all this data is collated and the local library managers will be hoping that it's enough to keep their services off the chopping block next time the council makes a round of cuts.

Didn't scroll that far. 

[Modern Panther]

Government services generally ask, to make sure they're serving the whole community.  If 7% of the population are Martians, but only 0.01% of library users are, then there's something wrong.

I once had an English lady get quite annoyed that the only box she could fit herself into was "other British".

[TordelBack]

Maybe it's because libraries are provided by the state ...

Those bastards again! I thought they'd already had their pound of flesh with the whole vaccination and workplace safety outrages. 

Let's face it when libraries aren't provided by the state that you need to worry.  And yeah, it's about outreach: I do volunteer community outreach stuff with a County Council every summer, and if you're in any way Diverse (young, old, immigrant, disabled: anything other than local white male over 20 or under 60) boys oh boys do we want to know it: that stuff is funding gold. 

Also, just occasionally, it makes us think about how we provide our services and to whom, and how we might improve.

[The Legendary Shark]

My argument is not that the state is bad, the state provides libraries therefore libraries are bad.

My argument is that the state fosters divisions in society so that it can present itself as a solution to divisions in society, the state provides libraries and therefore uses (or abuses) that privilege (along with many others) in order to remind people of those, in this case ethnic, divisions.

[Theblazeuk]

Put the tinfoil hat away! it's about trying - in the haphazard, fumbling way that is the only means possible when trying to support a mass population - to ensure that your services reach and help everyone, not just the majority.

It's just aggregate data. When you start saying a Library sign-up form is a means by which the state engenders division, you're going overboard. The truth is entirely the opposite.

[The Legendary Shark]

I think that if the truth was opposite, there'd be no need to ask which ethnic group one belongs to but, rather, what kinds of books or subjects the library applicant is interested in.

[TordelBack]

I'm not convinced that the question in the OP is terribly sensible myself for precisely the reasons Sharky sets out, but at the same time I honestly can't see anything wrong with a local service provider looking for information that allows it to assess how well it is serving its population. If (for example) only people with a multi-generational background in the country are accessing the library, I think this is useful information: people from different backgrounds may not be aware of the servcies on offer, or the way they are provided may not suit them.

We're back to arguing about the Census again, aren't we?

[The Legendary Shark]

I guess I'm just a cynic, lol. Anyway, maybe I'm wrong but I do sincerely think that reminding us of our differences on just about every government form they expect us to fill in is a great way for it to keep those differences visible and alive.

[Dandontdare]

Preposterous idea - "hey look at this form - I know I'm white but there are other categories here. I'd forgotten that some people in this town are from other ethnicities, but now I've seen this, I am reminded just how different they are - Grrrrr"

Nope, wrong target on this occasion - these forms are purely to ensure that certain groups aren't missing out or falling through the cracks when it comes to delivering services.

[Modern Panther]

Sometimes they go as far as providing multi lingual services, thereby dividing people further  by reminding them that they speak different languages.

[The Legendary Shark]

Heh, I'm not sure Nigel Farage even has a library card. Only people with that kind of mentality would react so vehemently. For most people, I contend, it's simply a low-level reminder.

On the positive side, once one notices these "divisions" the optimists amongst us can say, "hey, look at all these different kinds of people who enjoy reading as much as I do. Maybe we're not so different, after all."

[Fungus]

Please don't ruin this thread with more politics...