As Library and Information Science professionals, we are keenly aware that that a library—especially a public library—is a place to find acceptance and equality, as well as where needs can be met. For recent immigrants, those needs can vary and may not be as obvious to librarians, or may not be voiced. This could hinder library usage among immigrants, or if they do use the library they may feel that they cannot or should not ask for things that meet their needs. This also extends to second- and third-generation Americans, as they may struggle to communicate with older generations or extended family and wish to know their home language.
As a support-staff employee of the Lexington County Public Library system, it came to the researcher’s attention that the Lexington Main Library was serving many community members that hail from India. There is an even mix of first- and second-generation immigrants—including those who had just arrived in America and those who originally lived in other areas of the United States when they first arrived to the country—as well as a mix of fluency in English. Communication with a member of the Lexington One School District found that Gujarati is the third most spoken language at Lexington Middle School and River Bluff High School—two of the largest schools served by the Lexington Main Library. (K. Freeman, personal communication, May 1, 2018) The same communication revealed that the English Language Learner (ELL) instructors were finding that more and more of their students were arriving from India. (K. Freeman, personal communication, May 1, 2018) There is also a varied amount of family members, as some families only immigrant with their nuclear family while others immigrate with three generations—grandparents, parents, children. These older family members especially may struggle with adapting to a majority English-speaking country, and have little material in their first language to interact with.
As a library staff member, the researcher has been asked several times if the library had any materials in Hindi and found only beginning language-learning materials, predominately aimed at English-as-first-language users. For obvious reasons, these materials do not meet the needs for those who can already speak and read the language, and want something more in-depth in their native tongue. Similarly, there have been multiple requests to the researcher and her fellow staff members about if the library offer English as Second Language classes or groups, and these requests come individuals whose first languages include Spanish, Chinese, and languages from the Indian subcontinent. Unfortunately, every time the response has to be “not at this point in time.”
This does not stem from a lack of understanding, ignoring the shifting population dynamics, nor necessarily represents a lack of effort. In fact, in speaking with library staff at other branches within Lexington County, I learned of several other branches that were experiencing similar community changes. One branch reported an influx of Chinese immigrants, while mobile library staff shared that one of the Montessori schools they serve is looking for materials that teach American Sign Language as they have a mix of hearing and Deaf students. Other staff members expressed that they wished to order books in other languages other than English or Spanish, but found the library’s book vendor’s selection list to be restrictive and therefore an obstacle. This situation does, however, highlight several key obstacles that can be faced for smaller, suburban public libraries. These include, but are not limited to: lack of funding, lack of space, lack of available resources, a limited number of staff, and—especially amongst a predominantly white staff—a feeling of treading on toes and fearing alienating the very people they are trying to serve better.
Larger cities such as New York, St. Louis, Houston, and Chicago are incredibly diverse, and it reflects in their public libraries with collections that include multiple languages and websites that have readily available translations. However, smaller suburban areas of the United States—to include Lexington County, South Carolina—have long started to become more diverse populations, though it can be difficult for the public library to reflect that diversity and ensure inclusivity within the library and community.
This research began as a way to assess and then meet the needs of one specific community that is served by the researcher’s library branch. However, as the researcher quickly learned that she could interview and survey as much as she could, and discover all of the ways to meet the needs of the East Indian community in her area. However, the results would sit idle and unacted upon if the researcher and her colleagues did not know how to implement these results. This paper, therefore, is written to discover how to implement research results and incorporate new multicultural collections, programs, and resources into small, rural, and suburban libraries.