Services for Immigrant Populations

1. Services for Immigrant Populations By Morgan McMillian, Kit Pilgrim, and Orquidia Contreras

2. Historical Overview By Morgan McMillian

3. Overview • There’s no definitive history as to how public libraries handled immigrant populations. • Individual libraries managed their services differently. • Articles in print give opinions, but practice was not necessarily the same.

4. Librarians as Contributors • Even with debate, it is a common belief that public libraries were genuinely committed to helping immigrants. • Librarians made a lasting contribution in the lives of immigrants.

5. New Profession • ALA was established in 1876 and struggled to define the role of the public librarian. • Immigrant services helped determine profession.

6. Americanization • Second wave of immigrants struggled to fit into society. • Public libraries were used to attempt to Americanize immigrants. • Instead of simply giving services to immigrants, librarians learned from others in a mutually beneficial relationship. • Term changed to ‘internationalize.’

7. Services for Immigrants • Foreign language books • English classes • Simple English books for beginning readers • Resources for citizenship information • Cultural activities • Community center • Translation center • Traveling libraries

8. Proactive Outreach • Leaflets to neighborhoods, shops, grocery stores, churches, schools, etc. • Home visits • ‘Welcome to the Library’ signs in five different languages • Publicity in foreign language newspapers • Slide shows in various languages describing services offered

9. Mission: “to collect from libraries and supply to them information on the desirable methods of assisting in the education of the foreign born in American ideals and customs and the English language.” Committee for Work with the Foreign Born

10. CWFB • ALA established committee in 1924. • Appointed publisher James Foster Carr first director. • Recommended foreign language books to purchase. • Provided handbook for immigrant services. • Established clearinghouse for information on book buying and selection. • Developed cooperative network.

11. Three Sample Locations • Cleveland, Ohio • Chicago, Illinois • Queens, New York

12. Cleveland, Ohio • Progressive approach • Actively sought patrons in community • Taught citizenship classes • Created interlibrary loan within branches • Hired bilingual staff members • Led by literary lion Eleanor Ledbetter

13. Eleanor Ledbetter • 1890-1978 • Previously, a UT cataloguer • Saw library position as social worker • Active in community • Traveled abroad to find foreign language books • Chaired CWFB

14. Eleanor Ledbetter • “It is not a philanthropy, not an exhibition of noble generosity on our part, not a condescension; it is just a straightforward necessary part of extending the service of the library, the use of books, and reading, to the whole community.”

15. Chicago, Illinois • Rapidly changing ethnic nature of city and huge population growth • Delivery stations could not meet needs, so major expansion

16. Chicago Public Library • 1909 Commission recommendation urged librarians to “act in the spirit of aggressive helpfulness rather than inactive guardianship.” • CPL as local resource, not just book depository

17. CPL Challenges • Acquiring foreign language materials • Lack of bilingual staff members • Budget constraints • Matching words and deeds in the local branches

18. Queens Borough Public Library • 2000 census reported almost half foreign born and 54% speak a language other than English at home. • Most ethnically diverse county in U.S. • New Americans Program began in 1977.

19. New Americans Program Goals • Attract newcomers • Hire staff with language capabilities • Acquire appropriate materials • Provide ESOL classes • Introduce computer services • Offer cultural activities • Operate Mail-a-Book program

20. Changes • CWFB renamed the Committee on Intercultural Action in 1948 • Committee lost funding and support • Committee on Intercultural Action disbanded in 1957 • Other ALA committees took over those responsibilities

21. Changes • National Origins Act in 1924 altered the scope of immigration in the country. • The Great Depression emphasized class divisions over cultural ones. • World War II gave immigrants new economic opportunities and allegiances to the U.S. • Urgency of Americanization effort passed.

22. Why? Arguments for Providing Immigrant Services Kit Pilgrim

23. These are our communities: • Approximately 33.5 million immigrants in the U.S. today • 12.5 percent of the U.S. population • 600,000-700,000 legal immigrants arrive each year • 27,000 refugees arrive each year • An estimated 500,000-800,00 undocumented immigrants arrive each year. • Population of immigrants is growing 6 1/2 times faster than native born population 2006 U.S. Census Data

24. Percent of Population: 2006 U.S. Census Data

25. New Growth Centers In addition, major urban cities are no longer the main destination for immigrants

26. Public libraries need to respond to the needs of their communities “Excellence must be defined locally--it results when library services match community needs, interests, and priorities.” --Kathleen de la Peña McCook

27. Library Bill of Rights V. A person’s right to use a library should not be denied or abridged because of origin, age, background, or views.

28. ALA’s Resolution in Support of Immigrant RightsAdopted at the ALA 2007 Midwinter Meeting in Seattle, Washington States:

29. PLA’s New Planning for Results’ 13 “Library Responses”: • Basic Literacy • Business and Career Information • Commons • Community Referral • Consumer Information • Cultural Awareness • Current Topics and Titles • Formal Learning Support • General Information • Government Information • Information Literacy • Lifelong Learning • Local History and Genealogy

30. PLA’s New Planning for Results’ 13 “Library Responses”: 3. Commons Urban Libraries Council survey found that “86% of survey libraries…say cultural, immigrant, and refugee agencies and associations use the library as a community meeting space.”

31. PLA’s New Planning for Results’ 13 “Library Responses”: 8. Formal Learning Support • ESL Classes • Literacy Classes

32. PLA’s New Planning for Results’ 13 “Library Responses”: 10. Government Information • Citizenship Information • Tax Information • Government Processes Information

33. PLA’s New Planning for Results’ 13 “Library Responses”: 11. Information Literacy • Computer Classes • Internet Access

34. Other considerations: • History of immigration to U.S.

35. Other considerations: • Immigrant support of public libraries in the future

36. Other considerations: • Immigrants are taxpayers through their homes and jobs

37. Other considerations: • Increase native born cultural and social awareness

38. It’s our future: • “Children of immigrants are the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population under 18.” • Immigrant children account for 20% of K-12 U.S. school enrollment

39. “The disenfranchisement of a significant portion of the population will not further the goals of a democracy that depends on an informed citizenry to examine issues of public concern, to vote, to exercise good judgment as a consumer, to value and promote education, to become the next generation of technicians, teachers, health and medical personnel, researchers, academicians, and artists.” --Sonia Ramirez Wohlmuth and Kathleen de la Peña McCook

40. Overview of Material Available on Topic Orquidia Contreras

41. Historical Background • Library Literature from 19th century is rare • Few writings to be found • Start in the early 1900’s • Printed speeches, articles, personal journals and writings from library professionals

42. To Provide Foreign Language Books or Not? That is the question. • Initial issue was “Should the public library provide books in foreign languages?” • “Library Services to Immigrants: The Debate in the Library Literature, 1900-1920 by Eric Novotny • Novotny examines rare library literature on the topic of services geared toward immigrant communities.

43. Early Library Literature • “Why Public Libraries Should Supply Books in Foreign Languages” by Edwin White Gaillard (1903) • New York Public Librarian from 1897 to 1928 • At the forefront of the issue Gaillard argued that the public library was obligated to meet the needs of the community as a whole! • Edwin White Gaillard Papers are archived at NYPL Humanities Manuscript and Archives

44. “Library Work Among Foreigners” by Josepha Kudlicka (1910) • Strong supporter of the immigrant Polish population as well as a library professional Kudlicka emphasizes the importance of the library as a source of social support “where help and information of all kinds is asked and received.”

45. Plummer Alston Jones Libraries, Immigrants and the American Experience (1999) • Breaks down the history of immigrant library services into two sections • Period of “free immigration” 1876 to 1912 • Period of “restricted immigration” 1924 to 1924

46. Plummer Alston Jones • Still Struggling for Equality: American Public Library Services with Minorities (2004) • Jones continues to examine the continuing Americanization of the immigrant and his patronage of the public library • Additional topics: Federal funding, Civil Rights Movement, Cultural Movements of the 1960’s and multiculturalism and globalization

47. 1990’s • Immigrant Politics and the Public Library (2001) by Susan Luevano-Molian • The impact of anti-immigrant legislation on immigrant library users

48. It’s happening right now! • “Libraries Examine Policies As Counties Target Illegals” by G.M. Eberhart • In the wake of this year’s failed Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act two counties in Virginia are facing possible changes to standard circulation and library card policy

49. Library Pioneers • American Public Library Service to the Immigrant Community, 1876 – 1984: A Biographical History of the Movement and it’s Leaders by Plummer Alston Jones (1991) • Library heroes: • Jane Maud Campbell • John Foster Carr • Eleanor Edwards Ledbetter • Edna Phillips

50. Jane Maud Campbell • English immigrant who became a dedicated librarian serving immigrant groups with education and library services and Head of Public Libraries for Passaic, New Jersey