Program Overview

Serving Immigrant Populations

Soaring to Excellence

The Prototype

I. (Bill Erbes) Together with staff, immigrants themselves, and local agencies interacting with immigrants, develop a definition of cultural negotiation.

II. (Lester Park) Look to other libraries for direction, guidance, reassurance, and inspiration.

(Loida Garcia-Febo) The Queens, New York, Public Library is the most ethnically diverse in the United States and has been serving immigrants for over 100 years. The New Americans Program(http://www.queenslibrary.org/programs/nap/) is a model all libraries can emulate.

(Tammy Deboyne) Library size and location make absolutely no difference. What does make a difference is attitude, commitment, and collaboration with other agencies. Further, the easiest way into the immigrant community is through the children.

III. (Marc Thomas) Use readily available census data to figure out whom the immigrants in your community are, where they came from, their ages, and anticipated future growth. Mr. Thomas’ full PowerPoint presentation is available at: www.newamericansunited.net

IV. (Jill Rodriguez/Loida Garcia-Febo) Work with what you have. Determine need, then resolve to meet that need. That’s what librarians do, what they have always done, and what they must continue to do. Involve staff at every level of planning; exploit their talent; recognize them as the absolute best public relations tool available.

V. (Rohini Bokka) Do not assume that purchasing foreign language materials is the first or the last step; it is neither. Cultural negotiation is critical. Learn who your immigrants are and work with them to assess needs. Recognize their hopes and fears and dreams; recognize their children; treat immigrants as you would any other element of your community – with tolerance, respect, and empathy.

VI. (Vandella Brown) Recognize that diversity has always been a part of your library community. Be proactive. Understand cultural negotiation and provide programs and services to further the process of that negotiation throughout your community.

VII. (Gary Sarpy) Understand that community agencies need to form alliances with the library every bit as much as the library needs to form those alliances with community agencies. Some agencies will proactively seek out the library; others will not. It is likely all will respond whole-heartedly when approached. The use of volunteers is critical. Volunteers not only assist with programs, they also serve as conduits to the community.

VIII. (Randi Weiss) Do not perceive language as barrier. PolyTalk is a statewide program in Illinois, but it is absolutely replicable in any library in any state. The use of volunteers is critical.

IX. (Carolyn Walz) Any community can do it. Estherville, a small town in Iowa, is working it’s way through the prototype by: working to define what cultural negotiation means in Estherville; looking closely at what more experienced libraries are doing; targeting immigrant children as a primary focus; using all of the demographic data available from the federal, state, and local government, as well as social service agencies; involving staff every step of the way and actively seeking-out bi-lingual staff as openings arise; providing resources and programs for immigrants to become citizens, and providing the same for citizens to learn more about the immigrant community; forming alliances with every community agency that interacts with immigrants; making use of volunteers.

X. (Bill Erbes/Lester Park) Libraries represent the sum of all human knowledge, and they represent equal access to that knowledge. Libraries represent freedom of expression, celebration of diversity, a playing field that is level, preservation of heritage, and commitment to the future. We invite you to join us as we now become community centers of cultural negotiation.

Speakers |