Beauty Industry Trends and Library Collections: A Perspective on Curation and Economic Impact on Beauty Parlour Workers

Abstract

The rapid changes in consumer preferences and technological advancements characterize the beauty industry. These changes, therefore, require massive impacts on the workers at the beauty parlour, who equally need to adjust. Based on this fact, this paper examines how current trends in the beauty industry in relation to each other are sustainability, digitalization, and personalization, as well as the role of the library concerning creating a collection reflecting such trends. By conducting a qualitative analysis informed by theories of cultural capital and labor economics, this article will explain how libraries can help the parlour workers improve their cultural capital by providing access to relevant educational resources and support systems. This study reveals the economic challenges that strike the workers when industry changes, such as sustainable product costs, technical skill requirements, and demands for continuing professional development, are introduced. It is in this regard that libraries can well place themselves to ameliorate such pressures through making available information resources which will help the workers at beauty parlors to be competitive and economically resilient. The paper concludes by calling on the libraries to continue with efforts in support of the workers of the beauty parlour industry by developing collections and programming that are specially focused on areas such as digital technologies, sustainable business operations, and high-value personalized services. Further research may continue to look into additional strategies for improving library support in these areas.