Librarians Unite to Serve Immigrant Communities
Posted September 17th, 2007by Loida Garcia-Febo
After September 11, 2001, many elected officials responded to anti-immigrant sentiment by proposing legal provisions to ensure that illegal immigrants did not enter the nation and that those already in the United States would be forced to leave, or at least barred from public services. This political backdrop created the basis for a bill introduced December 12, 2005, by U.S. Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. of Wisconsin, H.R. 4437, officially titled To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to strengthen enforcement of the immigration laws, to enhance border security, and for other purposes. At different stages it also had been known as the Border Security bill, the Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005, and the Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005. Among the bill’s provisions, Section 205, titled Mandatory Sentencing Ranges for Persons Aiding or Assisting Certain Reentering Aliens, has caused many a librarian in a number of states to become active advocates on behalf of their immigrant patrons to stop legislation they feel threatens their call to serve their communities. Librarians all over the nation have organized, prepared resolutions, and coordinated concerted efforts to guarantee equity of service.
Libraries and Immigrants
Many librarians are concerned about their communities and whether illegal immigrants are visiting public libraries. Are they afraid of visiting their community library? Are they required to disclose their legal status? These questions, faced by libraries across the nation, touch on an increasingly prominent subject within the spectrum of library services to immigrants: valid identification cards to issue library cards. Depending on the origin of library system’s budget, these institutions modified requirements for customers to obtain library cards. Libraries supported by their county, city or state must follow regulations established by those bodies and accept valid identification cards recognized by them. Those libraries receiving funds from a variety of sources have more autonomy to develop policies to issue library cards. Nevertheless, libraries are continuing to fight for the right to provide services to immigrants. Libraries in such municipalities as Los Angeles, New York, and Queens among others accept a wide range of valid identification sources with current mailing address to issue a library card. They also accept letterheads of homeless shelters. These libraries’ main priority is to offer services to all members of their community. Libraries are no longer asking for Social Security numbers as a requirement to obtain a library card. Providing a telephone number is optional.
A few library systems have attempted to limit moneys allocated to purchasing materials in languages spoken by their communities. These efforts have not succeeded. There are national coalitions comprised of people from all sectors of the community, including librarians, that seek to ensure access to information to newcomers. Legal action has been taken and librarians are committed to continued advocacy in this area.
Other efforts have been coordinated nationwide by librarians and friends of libraries. For example, the Suffolk Library Association’s Intellectual Freedom Committee presented “Breaking Down the Walls: Making Your Library a Community Cultural Center,” a symposium that discussed ways of serving immigrants including library cards for illegal residents. National library conferences, such as the Joint Conference of Librarians of Color (JCLC) and the American Library Association Annual Conference, have hosted programs to discuss the topic. In June 2007, Webjunction hosted the webinar “Effectively Dealing with Anti-Immigrant Sentiment.” Speakers discussed how libraries can develop effective strategies for ensuring access to information to all people in their communities. Isabel Espinal, myself, and Emily Sheketoff, Executive Director of the Washington Office of the American Library Association, led this first live-nationwide discussion about the topic for and by librarians. Topics included advocacy, federal legislation, issues and options for academic, public, and school libraries.
Library decision makers across the country have started to encourage their institutions to include more cultural awareness training for their staff. Understanding multiethnic, multilingual populations has become a priority for librarians who want to satisfy the information needs of their community. Workshops on diversity for librarians to understand colleagues from other countries are being developed by many libraries.
Advocates for Services to Immigrants
In recent years, librarians serving immigrants increased their advocacy efforts toward providing library services to this population. This has been partly caused by H.R. 4437, which has surfaced on blogs, forums, and conferences focusing on equity of library services. Librarians believe that it is important to know the possible implications of this type of bill. Libraries are called to be institutions that facilitate access to information regardless of the country of origin or legal status of its customers.
During April and May of 2006 marches against H.R.4437 were held in several U.S. cities, including Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York. Librarians joined workers serving immigrants, including priests, social workers, and counselors, to encourage lawmakers to defeat measures like H.R.4437. Many librarians felt they had a duty to defend those immigrant patrons who have trusted libraries and librarians enough to obtain a library card. These librarians believed that advocacy was needed to ensure that libraries remain the heart of the community and that immigrants have equal access to information.
In April 2006, REFORMA, The Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking, approved a resolution opposing H.R. 4437, stating that “REFORMA will encourage library workers to act as advocates for the education of undocumented immigrants about their human rights.” REFORMA members also developed a “Librarian’s Toolkit for Responding Effectively to Anti-Immigrant Sentiment.”
The issue of immigration is not dead, as some might believe. While immigration bills have not been supported by the Senate, some sections of the various proposed bills are being brought to life and approved. In August 2007, a total of $3 billion for border security were approved as part of a Homeland Security Department spending bill. Efforts to create a temporary immigrant worker program for agriculture, as well as a bill to help high school graduates who are illegal immigrant to become citizens if they complete two years of college or military service, are being considered.
Immigration remains an important topic for librarians who have not forgotten the issue and continue advocating access to library services for all members of the community. The latest action coming from a library association took place on January 2007 when ALA passed a Resolution in Support of Immigrant Rights stating that it was, “Resolved, that ALA strongly supports the protection of each person’s civil liberties regardless of that individual’s nationality, residency, or status; and be it further resolved that ALA opposes any legislation that infringes on the rights of anyone in the USA (citizen or otherwise) to use library resources on national, state, and local levels.”
October 11th, 2007 at 1:49 pm
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