“The library experience goes far beyond books”: Latin American women’s narratives of transcultural embedding and social integration through using public libraries in Helsinki

Abstract Drawing on a thematic–narrative analysis of twenty in-depth interviews with Latin American women who relocated to the Helsinki Metropolitan Area primarily through marriage, this article explores how public libraries are mobilized to support their social integration trajectories. By linking social integration with the notion of “transcultural embeddedness,” the article demonstrates that settlement processes are facilitated through social relationships and community-building with diverse social Others within libraries. The findings underscore that social integration appears as an ongoing and negotiated process of transcultural embedding, enacted through everyday practices in super-diverse urban contexts. Public libraries emerge as key sites where women cultivate social ties, negotiate belonging, and engage in transcultural practices with Finnish nationals, co-ethnics/co-nationals, co-regionals, heritage-language communities, and other transnational actors. These practices—including learning Finnish, supporting bilingual children’s language development, building friendships, and creating communities of support—evolve into forms of transformative transcultural capital. Such capital addresses both personal and familial needs while contributing to broader place-making aspirations. Ultimately, this article argues that public libraries operate as “super-diversity container spaces,” positioning transcultural embedding as both a means of navigating settlement and a form of capital that enables women to build/sustain attachments, negotiate multiple belongings, and actively shape their place in the city.