James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA, USA.
Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Health Promot Pract. 2022 Sep;23(5):804-816. doi: 10.1177/15248399211001064. Epub 2021 Mar 31.
Public library programs and services offer opportunities to help immigrants navigate daily life in unfamiliar surroundings and a new language. For example, language classes address the social determinants of health as they encourage social participation and community ties and help develop friendships. The purpose of this research was to conduct a narrative literature review to understand how immigrants use public libraries and how public library services influence the social determinants of health for immigrant populations. Keyword searches were conducted on five databases to identify research papers that met the inclusion criteria: empirical studies published in English between 2000 and 2020 related to immigrants' use of public libraries. Thirty-one articles were included in the analysis. Thematic coding identified cross-cutting themes within the sample using the framework of the social-ecological model. Immigrants commonly use public libraries for programs (e.g., language learning), collections (e.g., borrowing books), and services (e.g., asking librarians questions). Immigrant patrons often reported satisfaction with library programs, services, and collections in the language of the host country. A frequent criticism was the relevance and accessibility of collections in their heritage language. In addition, library staff demographics often did not reflect those of immigrant patrons. Health-enhancing benefits associated with library use included increased confidence and self-esteem, cultural integration and preservation, trust and relationships (e.g., making friends), community awareness and engagement, and political integration. Future research and practice areas include collaboration between public health and library professionals to develop library programming that maximizes health and well-being among immigrants.
公共图书馆的项目和服务为帮助移民在陌生的环境和新的语言中适应日常生活提供了机会。例如，语言课程解决了健康的社会决定因素问题，因为它们鼓励社会参与和社区联系，并帮助发展友谊。本研究的目的是进行叙述性文献综述，以了解移民如何使用公共图书馆，以及公共图书馆服务如何影响移民群体的健康社会决定因素。在五个数据库上进行了关键词搜索，以确定符合纳入标准的研究论文：2000 年至 2020 年间以英语发表的、与移民使用公共图书馆相关的实证研究。有 31 篇文章被纳入分析。主题编码使用社会生态模型的框架，在样本中确定了跨领域的主题。移民通常使用公共图书馆的项目（例如语言学习）、馆藏（例如借阅书籍）和服务（例如向图书馆员提问）。移民读者经常报告说，他们对图书馆的项目、服务和馆藏在所在国语言中的使用感到满意。一个常见的批评是馆藏在其母语中的相关性和可及性。此外，图书馆工作人员的人口统计数据通常与移民读者的人口统计数据不相符。与图书馆使用相关的健康促进益处包括增强信心和自尊、文化融合和保护、信任和关系（例如结交朋友）、社区意识和参与度以及政治融合。未来的研究和实践领域包括公共卫生和图书馆专业人员之间的合作，以开发最大限度地提高移民健康和福祉的图书馆项目。
