By Samuel Feldman, Research Assistant, Alliance for Innovation

The role of public libraries in serving immigrants stretches back to Andrew Carnegie’s original support for public libraries as a means for immigrants, like himself, to learn the cultural and linguistic skills of America. Today, immigrants are settling in non-traditional areas outside of gateway cities. This demographic shift is changing the way libraries in rural, suburban and urban areas incorporate immigrants into their plans of service.

According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) report, Library Services for Immigrants, six key areas must be addressed when working with immigrants: community partnerships, collections, information services, programs and events, outreach and planning.

Community partnerships are seen as key to working with immigrant populations. Partnering with USCIS, public school systems, refugee and resettlement agencies, other non-profit organizations, and immigrant-specific agencies is recommended. The collections a library carries are also important for serving immigrants. Immigrant populations have a variety of needs and levels of language acquisition, so creating a committee of stakeholders is an effective way to identify the needs of the local immigrant population and to meet those needs. Web pages and other forms of information services that collect and gather immigrant resources is another crucial way of addressing immigrant needs. Making the information accessible and in more than one language is important for successful immigrant service. Programming, events, outreach and planning must all address the essential needs of the local immigrant population while working to gain the trust of local immigrant groups.

Another key factor in serving immigrants is equal access to services. According to the Librarian’s Toolkit for Responding Effectively To Anti-Immigrant Sentiment, published by Reforma, libraries must first make it their primary priority to serve the community regardless of immigration status. The Toolkit also recommends accepting other forms of identification and address verification beyond the traditional list, including rent receipts or post-marked mail. The toolkit recommends some flexibility to ensure access. A final important recommendation from the toolkit is to, “Promote your library as a welcoming place where revealing or explaining one's legal status is neither expected or required.”

Some of the most innovative programs come from:

Queens Borough Public Library: http://www.queenslibrary.org/programs/nap/index.asp.

Austin Public Library: http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/library/i_about.htm