The Use of Library Services by Immigrants from Ukraine in Canada

This article addresses the use of libraries by Ukrainian immigrants in Canada on a regular basis and specifically during the COVID-19 pandemic. While Ukrainian immigrants are known to be highly literate, their use of libraries in Canada has not been a subject focus of earlier investigations. This article reports the results of a mixed-methods study that surveyed seventy Ukrainian immigrants in Saskatchewan and Alberta, Canada, the provinces with sizable populations of Ukrainian immigrants. The study investigates the frequency and purpose of library use by the participants and their preference for library type and services. The research questions include: (1) How often do Ukrainian immigrants attend libraries in Canada? (2) What are the purposes of library use by the group? (3) What kind of libraries do the participants use? (4) Did the participants employ libraries to search for COVID-19 information during the pandemic? The results of the study demonstrate that most participants attend libraries in Canada, but about one quarter of them never do. The patrons visit libraries mostly once every few months. The major purposes of attending libraries are borrowing books for recreation and pleasure, followed by borrowing books for work, study, or upskilling, and bringing children to the library. The Ukrainian immigrants surveyed most often visit local public libraries, and in a few cases, university or college libraries. Most participants do not use library websites for information search. During COVID-19, participants searched for COVID information primarily on the internet, on the official websites of Canadian provincial ministries of health, from friends, and other sources, but not on the libraries’ websites or catalogs. The qualitative results coming from open-ended questions on the survey explain why the participants do not attend the libraries very often (such as finding books and information they need online and being too busy at work, having no need to attend a library, or having books at home). At the same time, participants talk about their wish to have more books in the Ukrainian language (which is spoken at home) as well as more activities for children held in the libraries. The significance of the study is in reporting the findings to libraries so that they can consider improving library services for major immigrant and refugee groups.