Immigrant Politics and the Public Library

Over the past few days I've spent some time with Immigrant Politics and the Public Library, edited by Susan Luévano-Molina.  The book is a collection of essays about library services to immigrants and the politics and public opinion surrounding immigration.  The text highlights many of the ways a library can act as a "neutral community resource" that provides a source of social and cultural capital for newly arrived immigrants. I skimmed most of the chapters since a lot of the writing dealt with California's Proposition 187, a piece of mid-1990's anti-immigrant legislation.  However, two of the essays, both dealing with Santa Ana, CA, were particularly enlightening:


"Mexican/Latino Immigrants and the Santa Ana Public Library: An Urban Ethnography"

Basically, the significance of this study was the fact that it confirms the role of public libraries as "mediating sites of learning and cultural acquisition" for immigrant populations.  As of the date of the survey (1996) Santa Ana had one of the highest concentrations of Spanish speakers in the state and 75% of the students in the school district spoke limited English.  The community had been deeply affected by "white flight" in the 1970's and kinship patterns continued to draw entire families and even whole communities to the area from Mexico.  City policy tended towards ignoring the immigration status of residents.  The authors of the study set out to document immigrant interaction with the public library, asking open-ended questions of 50 Spanish speakers in schools, markets, on street corners etc.  All interviews were conducted within three miles of a public library access point.  The fact that a donut shop ended up being the most successful site only confirmed what I had previously read about the importance of seeking out the key "information grounds" for the community.  Here were some of the results:

• Even though around half of respondents had never used the library, general impressions of the library were overwhelmingly positive, many describing it an almost "Utopian institution."
• The researchers were surprised by the respondents descriptions of high library use in their home countries.
• The authors comment that this is most likely tied to the growth of the Mexican library system in the 1980s.
• 36% of respondents had library cards, which is much higher the estimated 10-28% for the whole city population.
• Households with children were most likely to use the library.
• A quote from one of the respondents: "It makes me so happy that my children are anxious to go the library. We go once a week.  They can't wait!  The kids have an opportunity to study and to enjoy learning.  It is a time when the whole family can be together and relax in a pleasant environment."
• Main library uses: life-long learning, recreation, children's homework assignments
• Many described anxiety about asking for help at the library, which the authors associated with a general sense of apprehension surrounding public institutions. 

In general, the most important conclusions that the author drew from the study were the following:

• With the expansion of libraries in many other countries, there is a trend towards the creation of a "transnational migrant library user" profile.
• Libraries are one public institution where Latino immigrants view themselves as inter-connected with the larger community rather than a isolated population.
• Public libraries can effectively help immigrants transition from "sojourner to settler."

"Passport to Promise: Public Libraries as Intellectual Spaces for Immigrant Students":

This chapter, based on the results of two studies of Latin, discusses the role that public libraries can play in the development of "cultural citizenship."  New immigrants live within their own "small word" but through proper outreach and service development, libraries have the potential to connect those populations with greater information networks.  Here were some interesting highlights from the two studies discussed:

• Many of the students in the study found the public library to be more accessible than their school library, especially since they could visit the library with their entire family.
• The library was seen positively as a "neutral space" safe from the anxieties of gang activity
• In general, mastery of the English language was seen as a "passport to promise."

This authors went on to make some general suggestions for library best practices:

• Libraries should act as a hub of socialization for all levels, young to old.
• Central location and proximity to other social services greatly increase accessibility.
• Libraries can act as an important "free space."  According to Harry Boyte, political scientist and community organizer, "For democracy to work, communities need free spaces, where the public and private realms come together.  Here citizens can work for individual and common goods rather than simply being served by government employees or focusing on private gain."

I want to close this blog post by quoting a high school student originally from Guerrero, Mexico, a respondent in one of the student surveys:  "Yes, unfortunately it's true... I am an illegal.  But here I have everything necessary to survive in this country: my school ID, my green card, and my library card!"  Now that's saying something; the library as a survival tool!