Library Services for Immigrants. No. 532.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. (2006). Library Services for Immigrants: A Report on Current Practices. For PDF Click here.

Researched and written by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services [USCIS] and distributed by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, this report provides an overview of current services for immigrants within libraries. The authors note that providing services to immigrants is nothing new for public libraries. They trace this aspect of public library service to Andrew Carnegie’s support of libraries as centers for immigrant self-education and assimilation. USCIS says that immigrants now make up approximately 12% of the U.S. population and that they are settling in places where there are fewer resources available to them. The report not only offers recommendations for outreach and service, it also provides concrete examples of programs already in existence within public libraries across the U.S. In regards to ESOL programs, they stress the importance of intergenerational programming in order to bring entire families into the library. They also stress the importance of including evening programs so that adults who work during the day may take advantage of the services libraries offer.
[Thanks to LF.]
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), a former Immigration and Naturalization Service component, is charged with fundamentally transforming and improving the delivery of immigration and citizenship services. The Office of Citizenship, within USCIS, demonstrates this new commitment. The Office is mandated by the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to promote instruction and training on citizenship rights and responsibilities and to provide immigrants with information and tools necessary to successfully integrate into American civic culture. The office’s products and publications provide instruction to immigrants at two key points on their journey towards civic integration: when they first become permanent residents and when they are ready to begin the formal naturalization process.
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The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s 122,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. Through its grant making, convenings, research and publications, the Institute empowers museums and libraries nationwide to provide leadership and services to enhance learning in families and communities, sustain cultural heritage, build twenty-first-century skills, and increase civic participation. To learn more about the Institute, please visit www.imls.gov