CELEBRATE.SERVE.COLLABORATE.

PARTNERSHIP AS A STRATEGY FOR IMMIGRANT ENGAGEMENT

An Infopeople WebinarPresented by Jessica MooreMay 7, 2019

• M . A . I N T E R N AT I O N A L R E L AT I O N S

• D I R E C T R E F U G E E R E S E T T L E M E N T

• E N L & B I L I N G UA L E D U C AT I O N

• P R O G R A M & P R OJ E C T D E V E LO P M E N T

• C O M M U N I T Y E N G A G E M E N T W I T H D I V E RS E P O P U L AT I O N S

1 5 Y E A R S O F E X P E R I E N C E W O R K I N G W I T H I M M I G R A N T & R E F U G E E C O M M U N I T I E S

THE PLAN

• D E F I N I T I O N S , D E M O G R A P H I C S , & L I M I TAT I O N S

• O RG A N I Z AT I O N A L G OA L S & P R I O R I T I ES

• C H A L L E N G ES

• C U LT U R A L I C E B E RG

• ST R AT EG I ES

• S E L F - A S S ES S M E N T: I T ’ S YO U R T U R N !

• R ES O U RC ES

DEFINITIONS, DEMOGRAPHICS, & LIMITATIONS

IMMIGRANT: a person who comes to live permanently in a foreign country.

DEFINITIONS

ASYLEE: a person who is seeking or has been granted political asylum.

• ASYLUM: The protection granted by a nation to someone who has left their native country as a political refugee.

REFUGEE: a person who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster.

EXPATRIATE (EXPAT): a person who lives outside their native country.

DEFINITIONS

NEWCOMER: an immigrant who has lived in a country for 5 years or less.

DEMOGRAPHICS – NATIONAL TREND

S O U R C E : M I G R A T I O N P O L I C Y I N S T I T U T E

DEMOGRAPHICS –KNOWING YOUR LOCAL

COMMUNITIES MATTERS

• Census.gov

• American Community Survey

• Local School Data

LIMITATIONS

× We don’t dive into the “how” of partnership development.

× We won’t take a deep dive into demographic data.

× Not intended as a development tool for intercultural competency.

All are CRUCIAL but not the focus for today.

Know your goals!

WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES THAT LIBRARIES FACE AS THEY WORK TOWARD WELCOMING IMMIGRANT AND REFUGEE

COMMUNITIES INTO THEIR SPACES?

Language and literacy

differences

Non-verbal and intercultural

communication

Building trust

What are public

libraries?

Staff capacity

Limited Funding

Linguistic and cultural

representation among staff

CULTURAL ICEBERG APPLICATION

CREATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR COMMUNITIES TO TELL THEIR OWN STORIES.

CELEBRATE

Lunch and Learn: More than 15 communities engaged over the past 5 years.

Journey through Middle East: Intentional engagement with diverse members of local Middle Eastern communities.

One Million Journeys: Individual experiences captured through photography and storytelling.

DEVELOP LONG-STANDING RELATIONSHIPS THAT RESULT IN INITIATIVES THAT ARE COMMUNITY-DRIVEN AND SUPPORTED

BASED ON NEEDS AND INTERESTS.

SERVE

Spanish computer classes: Offered for more than 10 years based on language and technology needs.

Immigrant Welcome Center Pop-Up Branches: Bridges gap in service to public.

English Conversation Circles: About 32 languages represented in 2018.

COLLABORATE

INCLUDE LOCAL IMMIGRANT AND REFUGEE COMMUNITIES IN PROGRAM PLANNING.

Journey Series: More than 4,000 attendees over the course of 4 years.

IWC Branches: Natural Helpers engaged in service to community through library branches.

Global Indy Videos: Video personalities presented by local immigrants in community.

PARTNER STRATEGIES Continued…

• Connect with community groups and invite them to meet in your library community

rooms.

• Seek community feedback on collection development.

• Contract with local groups/organizations to lead projects.

• Identify community partners to assist with language needs.

• Improve language accessibility and visibility: Global City, Global Library.

SELF/ORGANIZATIONAL –ASSESSMENT

Failure

is

InevitableBut keep pushing …

“If you are human, you are biased.”

• C H I M A M A N D A N G O Z I A D I C H I E : D A N G E R O F A S I N G L E S TO R Y T E D TA L K H T T P S : / / W W W.T E D . C O M / TA L K S / C H I M A M A N D A _ A D I C H I E _ T H E _ D A N G E R _ O F _A _ S I N G L E _ S TO R Y. H T M L ; / D I S C U S S I O N

• I N T E R C U LT U R A L D E V E L O P M E N T I N V E N TO R Y ( I D I )

• P E O P L E ’ S I N S T I T U T E F O R S U R V I VA L A N D B E Y O N D – U N D O I N G R A C I S M

• P R O J E C T I M P L I C I T - H A R VA R D I M P L I C I T B I A S T E S T

• L E A D I N G I N A C U LT U R A L LY D I V E R S E W O R L D – C U LT U R A L I C E B E R G

Howard Ross author of Everyday Bias: Identifying and Navigating Unconscious Judgments in Our Daily Lives

J E S S I C A L . M O O R E

J L M O O R E 9 2 4 @ G M A I L .C O M

H T T P S : / / W W W. L I N K E D I N .C O M / I N /J E S S I C A M O O R E 9 2 4

Questions?