The Saint Paul (MN) public library welcomes a huge immigrant population, and continues to strive to find ways to make those new to America comfortable here. Alice Neve, a supervisor with the Lexington branch said “We’re faced all the time with people studying for citizenship and struggling to gain the skills for a good job, and we can help with all of that, but I think the biggest surprise (to many immigrants) is what else we are. A woman from Russia once asked me where she could see material the government doesn’t let people read. I told her the government doesn’t do that here. I told her the material here represents many sides of a story, even the immigrant story and her eyes just lit up.”
Here’s an article from the Pioneer Press on the library’s efforts to assist Hmong, Somali, and Hispanic residents among others.
From my chronology:
1966: Pramoedya Ananta Toer
This is what really draws me to the library
I wanted to be an anthropologist when I was fifteen. There is a certain degree of anthropological work in librarianship. This is a huge selling point for me. But even better, instead of scientifically studying their cultures, I get to be friendly, directly involved, and help improve situations. I am not bilingual. Even without knowing the language, librarians help a lot.
It is such a rush to help people get cards, explain the library, and see the look when it dawns on them what the public library means. I had two women from Pakistan, I believe, come in with an American assistant. The assistant explained to me that these ladies had just moved from their home country, and had never been in a library before. I explained what we do. I set them up with cards, and they painstaking signed their names by copying off their green cards. They are probably some of the best, regular patrons we have. They don’t take it for granted… this is a vital service to them. They even have stopped me on the street to show me what they’ve checked out and ask my opinion.
Like the folks in St. Paul, I love my job.
‘material the government doesn’t let people read
A woman from Russia once asked me where she could see material the government doesn’t let people read.
This sounds rather odd. If this woman thinks that there is things the government doesn’t want people to read (quite understandable and of course it does exist) then why on earth would she be asking for it in a public library??