Submission Type

Paper Abstract Submission

Symposium Selection

A “new normal” agenda in a COVID-affected world

Keywords

immigrants; information needs; outreach; orientation; vulnerable populations

Abstract

Supporting Immigrant Information Needs When the Library is Closed: A Case for Web-Based Newcomer Orientations

In the United States, immigrant communities have been hit especially hard by the economic, occupational, and social fallout that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic. With libraries, government offices, and community centers closed, immigrants were left with far fewer options to satisfy their information needs during their initial adjustment to life in the United States.

In the early states of cultural adjustment, many newcomers face anxiety-inducing barriers that discourage interaction with libraries; as such, they often rely heavily on social networks for information (Wang et al., 2020). In the event that access to family and friends is limited, as was seen in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic, immigrants may struggle to find what Kennan et al. terms everyday information—“everyday needs such as education, employment, health, daily living, and the need to contact family and friends” (Kennan et al., 2013). Everyday information needs are contextual and essential for adjustment to a new culture—not only how to find the bus station, for example, but how to pay for the ticket and request a stop (Worrall et al., 2019).

Some academic libraries have utilized web-based outreach to orientate international students to the library, as well as to the school’s greater community. Such outreach can provide these students with the ability to overcome adjustment barriers, and encourages future usage of the library (Sample, 2020). Public libraries can adapt these outreach methods to create web-based orientations targeting newcomers to their community that provide similar information, aiding immigrant adjustment even when access to social networks is limited.

Using Kennan’s (2013) framework of compliance information and everyday information, this paper will examine studies on the information needs of immigrants alongside outreach methods used in academic libraries to orientate international students. The paper will attempt to suggest adaptations of these academic orientations into web-based digital outreach that public libraries can employ to provide immigrants with everyday information during their adjustment that encourages community participation and library usage.

References

Kennan, M. A., Lloyd, A., Qayyum, A., & Thompson, K. (2013). Settling in: the relationship between information and social inclusion. Australian Academic and Research Libraries, 42(3). https://doi.org/10.1080/00048623.2011.10722232

Sample, A. (2020). Using augmented and virtual reality in information literacy instruction to reduce library anxiety in nontraditional and international students. Information Technology and Libraries, 39(1). https://doi.org/10.6017/ITAL.V39I1.11723

Wang, C., Huang, R., Li, J., & Chen, J. (2020). Towards better information services: a framework for immigrant information needs and library services. Library and Information Science Research, 42(1). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lisr.2019.101000

Worrall, A., Ballantyne, E., & Kendall, J. (2019). “You don't feel that you're so far away”: information sharing, technology use, and settlement of international student immigrants. Proceedings of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 56(1), 306–315. https://doi.org/10.1002/pra2.25

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Nov 12 2021

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Supporting Immigrant Information Needs When the Library is Closed: A Case for Web-Based Newcomer Orientations

Supporting Immigrant Information Needs When the Library is Closed: A Case for Web-Based Newcomer Orientations

In the United States, immigrant communities have been hit especially hard by the economic, occupational, and social fallout that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic. With libraries, government offices, and community centers closed, immigrants were left with far fewer options to satisfy their information needs during their initial adjustment to life in the United States.

In the early states of cultural adjustment, many newcomers face anxiety-inducing barriers that discourage interaction with libraries; as such, they often rely heavily on social networks for information (Wang et al., 2020). In the event that access to family and friends is limited, as was seen in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic, immigrants may struggle to find what Kennan et al. terms everyday information—“everyday needs such as education, employment, health, daily living, and the need to contact family and friends” (Kennan et al., 2013). Everyday information needs are contextual and essential for adjustment to a new culture—not only how to find the bus station, for example, but how to pay for the ticket and request a stop (Worrall et al., 2019).

Some academic libraries have utilized web-based outreach to orientate international students to the library, as well as to the school’s greater community. Such outreach can provide these students with the ability to overcome adjustment barriers, and encourages future usage of the library (Sample, 2020). Public libraries can adapt these outreach methods to create web-based orientations targeting newcomers to their community that provide similar information, aiding immigrant adjustment even when access to social networks is limited.

Using Kennan’s (2013) framework of compliance information and everyday information, this paper will examine studies on the information needs of immigrants alongside outreach methods used in academic libraries to orientate international students. The paper will attempt to suggest adaptations of these academic orientations into web-based digital outreach that public libraries can employ to provide immigrants with everyday information during their adjustment that encourages community participation and library usage.

References

Kennan, M. A., Lloyd, A., Qayyum, A., & Thompson, K. (2013). Settling in: the relationship between information and social inclusion. Australian Academic and Research Libraries, 42(3). https://doi.org/10.1080/00048623.2011.10722232

Sample, A. (2020). Using augmented and virtual reality in information literacy instruction to reduce library anxiety in nontraditional and international students. Information Technology and Libraries, 39(1). https://doi.org/10.6017/ITAL.V39I1.11723

Wang, C., Huang, R., Li, J., & Chen, J. (2020). Towards better information services: a framework for immigrant information needs and library services. Library and Information Science Research, 42(1). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lisr.2019.101000

Worrall, A., Ballantyne, E., & Kendall, J. (2019). “You don't feel that you're so far away”: information sharing, technology use, and settlement of international student immigrants. Proceedings of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 56(1), 306–315. https://doi.org/10.1002/pra2.25