The image of the library through the eyes of immigrant and migrant readers

PurposeDrawing on the survey of Spanish-speaking immigrant and migrant readers in Canada and the US, this study pursues three goals: (1) examine the image of the library held by these readers and trace the change of this image after the international migration; (2) use the study findings to revise and update the currently existing typologies of the image of the library; and (3) understand ethical and effective research practices in the studies of immigrant/migrant communities whereby researchers are external to communities in question.Design/methodology/approachThe data about immigrant/migrant readers were collected through a self-administered survey questionnaire that was available both in print and electronically, both in Spanish and English. The data analysis was guided by hermeneutic phenomenology, as explicated in the article. Theoretical examination of the image of the library relied on the earlier typology developed by V. Stelmakh.FindingsThe study elucidates perceptions of libraries and librarians in both North America and countries of origin held by Spanish-speaking immigrant/migrant readers, and highlights changes that occur in the image of the library as readers move across geographic borders. Building on the empirical data, the article develops a new typology of the image of the library. It also offers insight into ethical and effective ways of engaging with immigrant communities that should be upheld by researchers from outside the communities in question.Originality/valueIt is the first known study that systematically traces the changes in the image of the library which occur alongside geographic and sociocultural migrations. It is also the first known study that focuses specifically on readers rather than library users in general. The new typology consists of four different elements – the cultural image; the functional image; the humanistic image; and the ideological image of the library – and is accompanied by detailed definitions of each.

[1]  Denice Adkins,et al.  Arizona Public Libraries Serving the Spanish-Speaking: Context for Changes. , 2013 .

[2]  John W. Osborne,et al.  Some similarities and differences among phenomenological and other methods of psychological qualitative research. , 1994 .

[3]  Svanhild Aabø,et al.  Public libraries: A meeting place for immigrant women? , 2011 .

[4]  Dan Dorner,et al.  Thai immigrants’ information seeking behaviour and perception of the public library’s role during the settlement process , 2016 .

[5]  Gillian Nowlan,et al.  Pinterest as a Tool: Applications in Academic Libraries and Higher Education , 2012 .

[6]  H. Jansen,et al.  The Logic of Qualitative Survey Research and its Position in the Field of Social Research Methods , 2010 .

[7]  G. Reiners.  Understanding the Differences between Husserl's (Descriptive) and Heidegger's (Interpretive) Phenomenological Research , 2012 .

[8]  Immigrant Rights Advocacy as Records Literacy in Latinx Communities , 2018, The Library Quarterly.

[9]  Stephanie Krueger.  Norwegian Public Library Language Cafés Facilitate Discourse Between Immigrants and Norwegian-Born Citizens , 2018 .

[10]  Mary M. Kennedy,et al.  Generalizing From Single Case Studies , 1979 .

[11]  B. Bowe,et al.  Phenomenology and hermeneutic phenomenology: the philosophy, the methodologies, and using hermeneutic phenomenology to investigate lecturers’ experiences of curriculum design , 2014 .

[12]  Keren Dali.  Fostering the Reading Experience for Spanish-Speaking Readers: Post-migration Changes in Reading Practices and the Implication for Libraries , 2021 .

[13]  E. Boamah.  Information culture of Ghanaian immigrants living in New Zealand , 2018 .

[14]  Nadia Caidi,et al.  Information practices of immigrants , 2010, Annu. Rev. Inf. Sci. Technol..

[15]  K. Gergen.  Qualitative Inquiry: Tensions And Transformations , 2000 .

[16]  K. Aroian.  A Model of Psychological Adaptation To Migration and Resettlement , 1990, Nursing research.

[17]  Andy Koronios,et al.  Linking Everyday Information Behaviour and Asian Immigrant Settlement Processes: Towards a Conceptual Framework , 2015 .

[18]  Nadia Caidi,et al.  Social inclusion of newcomers to Canada: An information problem? , 2005 .

[19]  Kay A. Lopez,et al.  Descriptive Versus Interpretive Phenomenology: Their Contributions to Nursing Knowledge , 2004, Qualitative health research.

[20]  Ragnar Andreas Audunson,et al.  Supporting immigrants’ political integration through discussion and debate in public libraries , 2019, J. Libr. Inf. Sci..

[21]  Gary P. Radford.  Libraries, Librarians, and the Discourse of Fear , 2001, The Library Quarterly.

[22]  J. Du,et al.  The States of Uncertainty and Confidence of Asian Immigrants during Their Settlement in South Australia , 2020 .

[23]  Marc Applebaum.  Amedeo Giorgi and Psychology as a Human Science , 2011 .

[24]  Asset Mapping at Halifax Public Libraries: A Tool for Beginning to Discover the Library’s Role with the Immigrant Community in Halifax , 2012 .

[25]  Joan C. Bartlett,et al.  New Immigrants’ Perceptions and Awareness of Public Library Services / L’opinion des nouveaux immigrants et leur sensibilisation aux services des bibliothèques publiques , 2014 .

[26]  Keren Dali.  Reading by Russian-speaking immigrants in Toronto: use of public libraries, bookstores, and home book collections , 2004 .

[27]  Nadia Caidi,et al.  Immigrating after 60: Information experiences of older Chinese migrants to Australia and Canada , 2020, Inf. Process. Manag..

[28]  J. Rashotte,et al.  Validity in hermeneutic phenomenological inquiry: towards an ethics of evaluation. , 2007, The Canadian journal of nursing research = Revue canadienne de recherche en sciences infirmieres.

[29]  S. Laverty.  Hermeneutic Phenomenology and Phenomenology: A Comparison of Historical and Methodological Considerations , 2003 .

[30]  Snunith Shoham,et al.  Public library services to new immigrants in Israel: The case of immigrants from the Former Soviet Union and Ethiopia , 2008 .

[31]  Keren Dali.  How we missed the boat: reading scholarship and the field of LIS , 2015 .

[32]  Keren Dali.  From Book Appeal to Reading Appeal: Redefining the Concept of Appeal in Readers’ Advisory , 2014, The Library Quarterly.

[33]  Snunith Shoham,et al.  Public library services to new immigrants in Israel: The case of immigrants from the Former Soviet Union and Ethiopia , 2008 .

[34]  K. Swanson,et al.  : An Exploration , 2007 .