HomeOffice for Diversity Versed Diversity Bulletin Back Issues May 2006 The Immigration Debate

Bulletin of the Office for Diversity American Library Association ISSN 1554-494X

MAY - JUNE 2006
SPECIAL ANNUAL 2006 ISSUE

SPECTRUM SCOPE

The Immigration Debate
Who is the Public the Library is Meant to Serve?
Maria Hudson Carpenter and Gregory Hom

It has traditionally been the mission of public libraries in the United States to serve users from all walks of life.  Andrew Carnegie, a Scottish immigrant who went on to become the largest benefactor of public libraries in the United States, educated himself and learned about American culture through libraries. ⁽¹⁾  One of this nation’s first public libraries, the Boston Public Library, was founded as a “palace for the people.” ⁽²⁾   While there were gaps between rhetoric and reality as outlined by Eric Novotsky, our nation’s libraries have aimed to serve our immigrant communities for over a century. ⁽³⁾ The important tradition continues today with English as a Second Language programs, literacy programs, tutoring programs, community service referrals, homework assistance, computer labs, tax assistance, panel discussions on culture, politics, and society, and voter registration drives take place at libraries across the country. 

With the immigration debate in full swing—we should ask ourselves who is the public that the library is meant to serve?  Where do the 31+ million foreign-born residents living here fit in to the mix? ⁽⁴⁾ Should public libraries serve only documented immigrants among this group?  Do libraries have a responsibility to tax payers to ensure that services are given only to legal members of society?  What about undocumented immigrants who are paying taxes and social security, but will not reap those benefits, or documented visitors from other communities?

Let us consider the potential ramifications of the proposed immigration bills in Congress and how they might affect libraries in the near future.  Potentially the worst situation we might find ourselves in is to be criminally charged for performing a charitable act on behalf of an illegal immigrant under the House proposal.  On the other hand, under the Senate proposal, Libraries may well be partnering with immigrant advocacy groups to help with education and resources to assist new immigrants on the road to becoming citizens.

What about using biometrics such as fingerprints to identify “morally questionable individuals” such as illegal immigrants, criminals, sex offenders, terrorists, drunk drivers, or lost book offenders ?  A good idea right?  Now imagine having to scan people’s national ID cards with biometric information that immediately gets sent to a classified federal databank when a library user goes to check out a book.  Or having to swipe your card to even enter your community library.  Is locking out various persons for the greater good of society?  Or not providing morally questionable individuals with resources to expand their views?  Are we not all morally questionable beings as part of the human race?  We may very well find ourselves in that category through the use (moral and immoral) of biometrics.

A concern with rhetoric around the immigration debate is equating undocumented immigrants to terrorists. Libraries must continue serving the entire community and we must keep the doors of the library open to all, resisting outside pressures to restrict this access or put conditions upon it.  The library must continue it’s role of providing information, knowledge, access, and an open forum for public debate.

Libraries offer residents a glimpse of the world and a safe place to research topics, read and learn about alternative viewpoints, and debate issues.  Library service to all regardless of economic and racial background certainly strengthens our democracy.  In the century-long tradition of providing Library services to immigrants, rather than asking how we can lock people out of Library services, we should be asking, what kind of services can we deliver to meet our community members’ needs best and how can we do this better than in the past century? 

⁽¹⁾ Lorenzen, Michael.  “Deconstructing the philanthropic library: the sociological
reasons behind Andrew Carnegie's millions to libraries .” http://www.michaellorenzen.com/carnegie.html.

⁽²⁾ Boston Public Library.  “A brief history and description.” http://www.bpl.org/guides/history.htm.

⁽³⁾ Novotny, Eric. "Library services to immigrants: the debate in the library literature, 1900-1920, and a Chicago case study." Reference & User Services Quarterly 42.4 (Summer 2003): 342 (11).

⁽⁴⁾ Passel, Jeffrey S. and Suro, Roberto.  “Rise, peak, and decline: trends in U.S.  immigration 1992-2004.  Pew Hispanic Center.  (September 27, 2005).  http://pewhispanic.org/files/reports/53.pdf.

Additional Resources:
House Bill HR 4437 http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/thomas
Senate Bill S 2611 http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/thomas

Maria Hudson Carpenter is a Library Advancement and Communications Officer for Northeastern University and a 1999 Spectrum Scholar. Gregory Hom is a Research Assistant in his first year of graduate school at UCLA and a 2005 Spectrum Scholar.

 ©The American Library Association, 2006.  All material in Versed subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be photocopied for the noncommercial purpose of scientific or educational advancement. 

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