Services for Immigrants

About the Program

Category: Libraries (Best in Category)

Year: 2011

Multnomah County Library has expanded services to immigrants in response to the growing diversity of county residents, part of a shifting demographic landscape faced by municipal governments nationwide for the last decade. These services meet the specific needs of immigrants, helping them integrate into U.S. culture and learn or improve their grasp on the English language in addition to learning job skills and helping their children succeed in school by fostering strong early literacy skills. In an effort to develop culturally appropriate library services, the County conducted two community needs assessments (in 1998 and 2004) to learn as much as possible about the four largest immigrant communities residing within it, namely, the Spanish-, Chinese-, Vietnamese-, and Russian-speaking communities. The County then proceeded to hire bilingual staff, improved its collection of materials in these languages, and implemented library programs that reflect these communities’ cultures. Multnomah County provided cultural effectiveness training to all library staff (starting with the senior management team), thus increasing the entire organization’s awareness and enabling the County to better serve its residents. Currently, there are eleven libraries in the county with bilingual staff, collections, and programming. These libraries have seen dramatic increases in usage by immigrant communities. The ultimate goal is to increase employment, educational attainment, and civic integration by providing the County’s newest residents access to technology, library services, and literacy.