ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the skills and competencies that library workers must have to build relationships with excluded communities. Staff skills and, even more importantly attitude and empathy are critical to the development of needs-based and community-led library services. The skills required to provide advanced customer care include: communication skills; negotiation skills; and listening skills. Kerry Wilson and Briony Birdi investigated public library staff attitudes towards the concept of social inclusion and the role of empathy in community librarianship. Staff training programmes should link equal opportunities, anti-racism, anti-sexism and cultural and social exclusion awareness. The community groups have needs ranging from housing and health to education and employment. The modern library workforce can be drawn from a wide range of skills and experience such as youth work, community development and adult education to fulfil the service's potential to flexibly respond to the needs and expectations of users.
