Public Libraries for Immigrant Communities

U.S. immigration policies marginalize and inferiorize non-Northern or Western European immigrants (Al-khersan & Shahshahani, 2022). This integrative literature review, framed through the lens of critical librarianship, examines the role of public libraries and librarians in serving and developing immigrant communities within the context of U.S. immigration policies. A qualitative content analysis of 38 articles reveals that while public libraries play crucial roles for immigrants upon entry into the United States, their services fall short of including the heterogeneity of immigrants and fostering lasting relationships with immigrant populations. The roots of this impediment can be traced to the deficit-based paradigm and need-orientedness of the public library’s approach to immigrants, initiated by the Americanization movement (Ndumu & Ramnine, 2021). A gap was identified, indicating that empirical research is needed to interrogate the leadership roles of public libraries in community development alongside immigrant groups in the U.S.