New ULC Report on Immigrants

More and more, urban public libraries are stepping up to serve immigrants, and a new report from the Urban Libraries Council (ULC), Welcome, Stranger: Public Libraries Build the Global Village, explains those strategies. The 20-page report is aimed at not just library leaders but also public and foundation officials.

Based on online surveys of 35 ULC member libraries, interviews with library and community professionals, presentations at a ULC conference, and a scan of the literature on immigrant integration, the report details five broad tactics for successful immigrant inclusion and community adaptation identified by Brookings Institution researcher Audrey Singer. It was written by ULC’s Rick Ashton and Danielle Patrick Milam.

For example, libraries are often ahead of the census bureau in collecting formal and informal data on settlement patterns and needs of immigrants and refugees. That not only helps libraries build more effective programs in-house, it can serve other community service agencies that serve immigrants.

Recognizing their diverse constituencies, libraries have become more innovative in promoting their services, adapting signage and web sites, building multilingual collections, and providing basic services in the first languages of their new residents. Of the 35 libraries surveyed, 45 percent have multilingual web sites, up from 30 percent of 75 libraries surveyed in 2003. While most multilingual portals use Spanish or Chinese, some library sites use Korean, Hmong, Russian, and Somali.

Libraries have become leaders in building English capacity, the most important factor in immigrants’ chances for success, through both early/family literacy and adult English instruction.

Libraries partner with many groups, such as schools and literacy councils, to provide such services. Also, libraries have become key conduits to other local agencies and support institutions, including workforce and business development, health, and school engagement. For example, a microlending program in New England sends aspiring immigrant entrepreneurs to Boston Public Library’s Kirstein Business Branch. Finally, libraries encourage civic engagement by hosting talks and films that address the immigrant experience and provide places for immigrant and cultural groups to meet.