ISSN: 2474-3542 Journal homepage: http://journal.calaijol.org Library Services to Multicultural Populations through the Lens of History: A Literature Review Stan Trembach Abstract: In today's increasingly globalized and interconnected world, libraries play a critical role in the integration of their culturally and ethnically diverse service populations into the mainstream of American society. This literature review traces the historical development of culturally responsive library service from its earliest format, readers advisory, to contemporary forms of library support available to multicultural communities. Current policy response to specific issues involved in library work with multicultural constituencies is also examined, along with the contributions of such work to the ongoing interdisciplinary global citizenship discourse. To cite this article: Trembach, S. (2022). Library Services to Multicultural Populations through the Lens of History: A Literature Review. International Journal of Librarianship, 7(2), 61-73. https://doi.org/10.23974/ijol.2022.vol7.2.259 To submit your article to this journal: Go to https://ojs.calaijol.org/index.php/ijol/about/submissions https://doi.org/10.23974/ijol.2022.vol7.2.259 https://ojs.calaijol.org/index.php/ijol/about/submissions INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LIBRARIANSHIP, 7(2), 61-73 ISSN: 2474-3542 Library Services to Multicultural Populations through the Lens of History: A Literature Review Stan Trembach Emporia State University, USA ABSTRACT In today's increasingly globalized and interconnected world, libraries play a critical role in the integration of their culturally and ethnically diverse service populations into the mainstream of American society. This literature review traces the historical development of culturally responsive library service from its earliest format, readers advisory, to contemporary forms of library support available to multicultural communities. Current policy response to specific issues involved in library work with multicultural constituencies is also examined, along with the contributions of such work to the ongoing interdisciplinary global citizenship discourse. Keywords: library services to multicultural populations, cultural capital, global citizenship, public libraries INTRODUCTION In 2018, the foreign-born population in the U.S. reached a record 44.8 million, which represents more than a quadruple increase since 1960s (Pew Research Center, 2020). Indeed, as the land of opportunity, the United States has provided a new home and a new hope for many a generation of immigrants. They have come to this country for various reasons: some in search of an elusive better life, others paying the consequences of their dissident views and fleeing the persecution of authorities, while yet others have been driven by an ambitious pursuit of knowledge (Portes & Rumbaut, 2014). Their particular circumstances depended on the historical period they lived in, the geographical area they hailed from, and a myriad of other factors. One thing was common, though: to a greater or lesser degree, they all had to make adjustments and learn to live in a new culture that was often so unlike their own. Based on the premise that many of the challenges typically encountered by immigrants stem from a range of unmet cultural, social, and—above all,—information needs, the article presents a review of library and information science literature to provide an examination of how culturally responsive library services have emerged as a key factor in facilitating the integration and acculturation of foreign-born library users. In particular, the article traces the development of culturally responsive library services from readers advisory to contemporary forms of library support for multicultural communities and argues for a core position of libraries within the ongoing interdisciplinary global information society/global citizenship discourse. Trembach / International Journal of Librarianship 7(2) 62 In order to better address the complexity of such a multifaceted phenomenon as culturally responsive library services and their role in accommodation and acculturation of foreign-born library patrons, this study follows the integrated thematic review methodology. The integrated review technique has been identified as appropriate for studies focusing on several aspects of a complex phenomenon or those involving several different operational definitions, where the researcher aims to establish a bridge between related areas of work, identify theoretical or conceptual framework, and discern central issues in a given area of inquiry (Russell, 2005). The findings were further grouped into several key themes to narrow the existing gaps in our knowledge of the literature: 1. The challenges historically faced by foreign-born library patrons in the United States. 2. The role public libraries have played in the integration and acculturation efforts aimed at foreign-born library patrons. 3. The evolution of reader advisory services and its impact on the development of the current formats of culturally responsive public library services, as reflected in the work of regional professional library associations. The body of literature for this study was amassed from the following databases pertinent to the library and information science field: Library and Information Science Source (Ebsco), Academic Search Complete (Ebsco), LISTA (Ebsco), Education Source (Ebsco), and ProQuest Theses and Dissertations. Based on the above identified themes that constitute the focus of the study, the author developed a search terminology that included combinations of the following terms: “multiculturalism in library services,” “culturally responsive library services,” “readers advisory services,” “immigrant library users,” “foreign-born library patrons.” The sources were selected for this study based on the relevance to the above themes that informed the current research. The initial screening of the titles and abstracts of the search results enabled the author to exclude those titles in which relevance was not immediately discernible. The remaining fifty-six sources, including scholarly articles, books, policy documents of regional professional library associations, as well as web-based sources of statistical information, are featured in the literature review below. OVERCOMING INTEGRATION CHALLENGES: PUBLIC LIBRARY ROLE For more than two centuries of its eventful history, this country has welcomed immigrants from many cultures, with a marked increase in global migration numbers and patterns observed in recent decades (Castles, 1998; Hogg, 2011). Thus, the concept of multiculturalism has almost become synonymous with the very identity of the United States. The overarching problem immigrants typically encounter is that of a quick and complete acculturation into the dominant culture (Padak & Rasinski, 1993). How challenging the process may be for them is illustrated by the fact that multicultural populations have been addressed by various, at times borderline derogatory, terms, such as minorities, foreigners, underprivileged, etc. The use of such terms indicates a certain sense Trembach / International Journal of Librarianship 7(2) 63 of cultural superiority and an implicit attempt at dissociating a particular cultural group from the mainstream or the majority population (Abdullahi, 1991). Understandably, the dominant culture does inform the adaptability of newcomers to new ways of life. Nieto (1999) suggests that, since any culture is dynamic, it does not exist in isolation. Instead, it interacts and forms concrete relationships with surrounding cultures—including the dominant one—characterized by differential access to power. The result of this interaction is a cultural hybrid in which people may select or reject particular elements of culture depending on their unique contexts (Nieto, 1999). It is for this reason, therefore, that over the years the incessant influx of immigrants and their remarkably diverse social, economic, and cultural backgrounds conflated with the dominant culture and led to a wider adoption of the idea of cultural diversity and, most recently, its rise to prominence in the rhetoric of a broad spectrum of cultural, political, social, and educational establishments. Public libraries have historically been at the forefront of the movement and contributed significantly to the assimilation and acculturation of multicultural populations by addressing their most vital information needs (Cuban, 2007). The challenges faced by immigrants and their families are indeed many, ranging from their limited command of English, the need to secure employment upon arrival, accessibility of education and healthcare opportunities, racial or ethnic discrimination, and the pressure to successfully re-settle and integrate into the host country that is culturally different from their country of origin (Lee, 2020). Many, if not all, of these concerns have the underlying need to locate, access, and evaluate information. Research (Wang et al., 2020; Caidi & Allard, 2005) suggests that failure to meet these critical information needs may significantly hinder the process of integrating immigrants into a new society and culture, underscoring the importance of providing timely and culturally sensitive library support for them. In terms of getting such support, there may be additional library-specific barriers for immigrant patrons that the literature identifies as occasional lack of cultural sensitivity of library staff and library policies, communication issues, and inconsistent hours and locations, among others (Burke, 2008). Although serving immigrants and their families has been part of the library agenda for the past 100 years (Wang et al., 2020; Cuban, 2007), it took a while for libraries to truly begin to incorporate into the mainstream of their work a greater number of special services targeting the interests of multicultural groups. Often, those library users would be a forgotten lot. Once they entered the library, which for many of them remained an uncharted territory well into their stay in the country, they were left on their own both physically and in terms of their information needs (Abdullahi, 1993). Gradually, though, public libraries started to assume the role of information mediators and educators (Birge, 1981), which was a crucial step in providing a bridge to community resources for sprawling immigrant communities. As libraries expanded this role from the general public to low-income and particularly minority populations, they grew increasingly intentional about strengthening their services specifically tailored to the needs of multicultural populations. Distinguishing a multicultural library service is the value purposefully placed upon cultural pluralism and tolerance, if not acceptance, of different views, opinions, or beliefs. An orientation toward multiculturalism presupposes the intellectual enrichment of all cultural groups through the provision of equal access Trembach / International Journal of Librarianship 7(2) 64 to information, the preservation and exchange of literature, experiences, and attributes--all necessary tools for integrating multicultural library users into their new society (Picco, 2008). Although “no community has ever been truly homogeneous” (Abdullahi, 1993, p. 85), multiculturalism took its roots in the United States, embodying the differences that existed among its citizens in lifestyles, religions, experiences, and family histories. If “cultural differences and the joys, challenges, and (sometimes) difficulties associated with them have always been part of the fabric of American society” (Fish, 1992, p. 34), then it should not come as a stunning surprise that the same diversity would eventually penetrate the American public library landscape as well. EXPANDING MULTICULTURAL SUPPORT AND ITS ROOTS IN READERS ADVISORY SERVICES American public libraries have served the foreign-born since practically the very onset of the profession (Burke 2008), often having to maneuver between changing political agendas and societal attitudes toward immigrants. For example, in the wake of the unprecedented foray of immigrants into the country, the last two decades of the nineteenth century witnessed heightened feelings of nativism among the public and policymakers on the grounds that the racial, ethnic, and cultural background of the new immigrants of the post-1870 era made them practically unassimilable into the American way of life (Young, 2017). Such sentiments were often fueled by the desire on the part of the general public to use libraries as a mechanism of assimilation and control for immigrant groups (Kevane & Sundstrom, 2014; Jones, 1999). Promoting good citizenship was viewed as one of a public library’s primary functions, prompting conservatively minded members of the public to support limiting, if not eliminating, immigration altogether (Jones, 1999). Still, as the anti-immigration stance intensified in society at large in the early twentieth century, public librarians strove to distance themselves from the negative influences of the ongoing anti-immigration campaign and spared no means to showcase their devotion to service to multicultural communities. Their efforts centered on activities directed at assimilation—or Americanization—of immigrants, particularly in regions with historically large foreign-born populations. For example, analysis of the operations of the Queens library branch in New York by Aptekar (2014) suggests that the library functioned as an acculturative institution where “the treatment of immigrants and non-English speakers by the staff… highlighted the ways in which the library was a space where ideologies of assimilation could be reproduced” (p. 1210). As explained above, during the Progressive Era, a period of social activism and political reform that flourished from the 1890s to late 1920s, the educational function of public libraries increased against all odds (Birge, 1981). Birge (1981) points out that librarians began to take on the role of readers advisors, and they treated this duty seriously perceiving it as their central mission to assist with the assimilation efforts not only by promoting their own resources but also by encouraging immigrants to attend night classes to learn English and get accustomed to materials about American culture. Libraries everywhere realized the need to teach non-English-speaking library users the language as the only way to open their minds and hearts to the riches of American literature (Wheaton, 1917). Trembach / International Journal of Librarianship 7(2) 65 Librarians are known for their desire to overdo things professionally. For many progressive readers advisors and their followers in the 1930s-1940s, too, these growing educational efforts constituted the focal point of the daily activities. The likes of Helen E. Haines, a library educator, writer, and activist in the area of support for popular fiction and intellectual freedom, promulgated the breadth and depth of book collections in public libraries, and through their use—“the freedom to read” (Trott, 2010, p. 415). If public libraries were intended to represent safe, near sacred spaces for self-education that provided a cathartic experience, the librarians and readers advisors who worked there had to become knowledgeable of the intricacies of the assimilation process and populate their shelves with the materials that would attract, entertain, and enlighten the audiences they were committed to serve. Wyer (1930) holds the authorship of what to this day is the most illuminating summariers of the readers advisory craft: Those who serve in the capacity of readers advisors must possess the highest qualifications. They must have both breadth and depth of knowledge. They must have the facility of the trained and experienced librarian for finding and organizing materials suited to the reader. They must have personality, tact, sympathy, enthusiasm and an understanding of educational psychology comparable to that of the successful teacher. Their knowledge and experience should be such that they will be able wisely to recommend suitable books on the same subject to men and women who differ widely in ability, education and purpose. (p. 181) In order to live up to such lofty expectations, readers advisors resorted to various practices that ranged from highly interactive, i.e., the face-to-face encounter or reading discussion groups, to those that were not interactive at all, like merchandizing, which depends on the strategic use of space and the study of browsing behavior to put books and readers together (Chelton, 2008). What all of these variations in technique depended on was an understanding of readers and reading behavior, so that thorough knowledge could be applied to whatever technique readers advisors chose to employ. It is this flexibility, genuine care, and love of the craft that cemented the position of readers advisory as a highly successful and increasingly popular library service throughout the first four decades of the twentieth century. Subsequently, readers advisory services in American public libraries witnessed a series of dramatic setbacks in the aftermath of World War II. The proliferation of scientific and technological discoveries accompanied by the natural reduction in leisure time were among many socio-economic, political, and cultural reasons that underpinned the decline of the readers advisory services in the mid-1940s, 1950s, and 1960s (Saricks & Brown, 1997). The first indication of their possible revival came from the Reading Guidance Institute held at the University of Wisconsin Library School in June-July 1965 (Regan, 1973). The institute brought back the relevance of the idea of reader assistance by designated library staff members and was the result of a peripheral but steady interest in the long-awaited return of the readers advisory services to the American library scene. SERVING MULTICULTURAL POPULATIONS: CONTEMPORARY DEVELOPMENTS AND LIBRARY POLICY RESPONSE Trembach / International Journal of Librarianship 7(2) 66 The preceding historical overview helps contextualize readers advisory services as one of the more vital forms of library assistance that became increasingly available to multicultural library users in the late twentieth century. Currently, many public library programs that are aimed at encouraging reading among immigrant populations, along with literacy projects and in-library tutoring programs for school children, have their roots in the ideals of the library movement at the turn of the twentieth century and the 1920s-1930s—the golden age of readers advisory--where many librarians serving in immigrant communities saw themselves providing services that paralleled the care and healing power of services rendered by other socially-oriented professions, namely, social workers and teachers (Asher, 2011). The more contemporary stages of the readers advisory evolution into a full-scale range of services for multicultural library constituencies coincided with another immigration boom in the history of the United States. The foreign-born population rose from 9.6 million in 1970 to 14.1 million in 1980, to 19.8 million in 1990, and to 31.1 million in 2000 (Gibson & Jung, 2007). Herein lies the explanation for the post-1965 emphasis on the diversity of library services and the proper accord to the diversification of library clientele. Fortunately for both multicultural library patrons and service providers, the late 1970s and early 1980s saw a growing need to improve the overall quality of library services to this particular group of users across the globe. In the United States, the New York Queensborough Public Library exemplifies the country-wide push for the policy of inclusion in library services. Dating back to the foundation of the first Queens library in Flushing in 1858, the Queensborough Public Library has become one of the largest public library systems in the United States. Historically, the Queensborough Public Library has served one of the largest immigrant populations in the country. Consequently, a large percentage of the Library’s collections are in non-English languages, particularly Spanish. In 1977, the Queensborough Public Library broke the new ground when it initiated the New American Project whose purpose was twofold: to extend library services to residents whose primary language of communication is other than English and to facilitate the immigrants’ adjustment to their new surroundings through the acquisition of appropriate materials and the creation of special programs (Tjoumas, 1987). By launching the New American Project, librarians at Queens took it upon themselves to facilitate the acculturation process of non-native speaking library populations. The Queensborough Public Library experience, which also includes the establishment of the International Resource Center with books, magazines, CDs and DVDs representing cultures from all over the world, proved to be truly revolutionary as it adopted a multifaceted approach to assisting immigrants with their adjustment to the new environment. Measures taken under the New American Project included but were not limited to building targeted foreign-language collections; offering English as a second language courses and coping skills training seminars and workshops; designing diverse cultural programing, and similar initiatives (Tjoumas, 1987). At the dawn of the new millennium, the U.S. Census Bureau experts envisioned that the heterogeneity trend in the population would continue and projected that, by 2050s, the U.S. would become a plurality nation, with no single race or ethnic group representing the majority (U.S. Census Bureau, 2012). Accordingly, it is particularly critical that public libraries continue to act Trembach / International Journal of Librarianship 7(2) 67 as community anchor institutions and lay the groundwork for more successful community coalition-building and the development of culturally responsive library programs and services. They have done so, as many success stories testify, such as that of Little Explorers, a series that focuses on supporting self-esteem and building a welcoming and receptive mindset about diversity in children and communities served by the Somerset County Library System, or A Taste of China, a program that grew from one-day event at the Summit Free Public Library (Summit, NJ) into a week-long celebration of the Chinese New Year with festivities like food prep, Chinese art and calligraphy lessons, cartoon viewings, and performances by community members (New Jersey State Library, 2019). These success stories are far from isolated incidents. Many libraries across the nation have responded in kind, developing culturally responsive library programs, activities, and events as a way to stimulate dialogue about issues of ethnicity, class, and culture (Naidoo, 2014). A prime example nationwide is Día! Diversity in Action, also known as Children 's Day/Book Day, or in Spanish El día de los niños/El día de los libros. Día! Diversity in Action has gained recognition as an annual celebration of reading for and by children and families (ALA, n.d.). Día! Diversity in Action is an opportunity for libraries around the country to connect children and families to multicultural books, bilingual services, educational resources, and provide the children and families with access to materials that mirror their culture, as well as open a window to others. Such work is now receiving attention at the local, state, national, and even international levels and is part of the rhetoric of many professional library organizations. For example, the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) released the Guidelines for Multicultural Communities Library Services (2009) stipulating that service should be provided to all ethnic, linguistic, and cultural groups according to the same well-established standard. The dynamic of the past three decades is reflected throughout the IFLA Guidelines that promote more equitable opportunities for minority users in terms of access to library materials in their preferred languages and reflecting their own cultures, as well as the adopted one. The Guidelines, translated into eleven languages, seek to encourage understanding and engagement among the multicultural groups represented in all strata of society and place the responsibility upon libraries to provide criteria against which the adequacy of existing multicultural services may be assessed. By recognizing that library and information services in a culturally and linguistically diverse context include both the provision of services to all types of library users and the provision of services specifically targeted to underserved cultural and linguistic groups, the IFLA Guidelines accomplish several important milestones. They acknowledge again and again the right of each individual in today’s global society to benefit from a full range of library and information services. In addressing cultural and linguistic diversity, libraries are challenged to serve all members of the community without discrimination based on cultural and linguistic heritage, while ensuring access to a broad range of materials and services reflecting all communities and needs. Importantly enough, the IFLA Guidelines also mandate that, to reflect the diversity of the community, libraries serving multicultural users employ staff who are trained to work with such diverse communities. Additionally, the American Library Association (ALA), its divisions, and regional library communities in the United States have acknowledged access to library and information resources, services, and technologies as an inherent right of all people, especially those who may be Trembach / International Journal of Librarianship 7(2) 68 marginalized from education and literacy (ALA, n.d.). Admittedly, the roots of marginalization can vary from language or literacy-related barriers; economic distress; cultural or social isolation (ALA, n.d.); racial or religious discrimination, as well as immigration status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression (Ellis et al., 2010); or other barriers to equal education, employment, and housing specific to each individual. To alleviate their plight, ALA posits that greater involvement with the local library has to take place and it should be promoted through numerous avenues, including cultural events, community-based organizations, or local media (ALA, n.d.). In late 2006, the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA), a division of ALA, published the Guidelines for Library Services to Spanish-speaking Library Users. This document addressed the complexity of working with Spanish-speaking library constituencies, citing, for example, significant linguistic and cultural differences reflected in the varieties of Spanish spoken by Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, and other Spanish-speaking groups (ALA, 2008). The Guidelines highlight many professional concerns that serving this specific target audience entails, particularly in the areas of collection and selection of materials, program design, services and community relations, personnel, and facilities (ALA, 2008). On the state level, too, the Alaska Library Association (AkLA, 2018) produced and regularly updated a set of Culturally Responsive Guidelines for Alaska Public Libraries. The Guidelines maintain that culturally responsive services, collections, programs, staff, and overall library environment form the foundation for serving the needs of indigenous peoples of the state (AkLA 2018). Importantly, although originally developed to serve predominantly the Alaska Native community, the Guidelines have since expanded their applicability and reach to other cultural and ethnic groups residing in the state. The Culturally Responsive Guidelines for Alaska Public Libraries address multiculturalism in library services through specific action statements spanning four broad areas: library environment; services and programs; collections; and the staff. The particular value of these Guidelines is that they can and should be used as a blueprint by libraries elsewhere—particularly those libraries looking to foster a more culturally cognizant and responsive organizational environment and service philosophy. Besides offering a benchmark against which to evaluate library programs, services, and collections, the Culturally Responsive Guidelines also provide a useful tool to approach this undertaking as a series of smaller, more incremental steps directed at updating mission and vision statements or other policy revisions to assure the integration of culturally appropriate practices into both short-term and long-term library operations. MULTICULTURAL LIBRARY SERVICES: A PATH TOWARD GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP The examination of virtually all the above-mentioned policies reveals their distinct emphasis on fostering deeper intercultural understanding both among members of specific cultural groups and the general body of library users. While existing research suggests that public libraries do play an important role in supporting the well-being of patrons with diverse cultural backgrounds, this study points to the need to create an even more robust scholarship base to help public librarians and their Trembach / International Journal of Librarianship 7(2) 69 professional associations better situate cultural competence as the core element of their branding and advocacy. This review highlights the effectiveness of intercultural communication and cooperation as strategies libraries should employ to better address the needs of service populations that represent a multiplicity of cultures. The historical perspective presented above has important implications for present-day library outreach to underserved or underrepresented communities, regardless of the specific ground for their marginalization from access to information. In light of Hofstede’s (1991) broad definition of culture as “the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one human group from another” (p. 5), this study may serve as a promising starting point for furthering the national research agenda that focuses on libraries operating as safe spaces that provide access to vital information resources for diverse communities. Based on the key premise that one’s culture is synonymous with the very notion of human identity, this article adds to the growing body of scholarship documenting library efforts over the time to build a relationship of trust and respect with all users. As this article demonstrates, specific measures to achieve these goals, may include organizing events, exhibits, and educational activities that help appreciate, celebrate, and highlight the meaning of cultural diversity and inclusion. It is hardly surprising that public libraries have been central players in the ongoing conversations revolving around the themes of equity, diversity, and inclusion in society. This article aims to make a meaningful contribution to this discourse by urging libraries and librarians to be more cognizant of the diverse identities of their service communities. For all their dissimilarities, what places multicultural populations and native-born library users in the same stream of analysis is their belonging to the human community. If we accept that “identity and belonging are diverse and extendable from the local through the national to the global” (Pashby, 2018, p. 277), then it is only appropriate to conclude this overview with the discussion of the place culturally responsive library services occupy in the global citizenship discourse. Contemporary sociopolitical structures—and educational and cultural institutions as derivatives of those structures—are unique for many reasons. Among them is the fact that we live in an increasingly globalized, technology-mediated, connected, and internationally involved world (Yemini, 2017; Bauman, 2000). Discussing the nuances of the ongoing globalization process, Beck (2000) warns against a one-dimensional view of this phenomenon as a series of transnational economic developments manifested through cross-frontier economic competition in the world market. Similarly, Nieto (1999) asserts that culture cannot be conflated with just ethnicity or race. By the same token, globalization should not be perceived in terms of the economy alone. Rather, Beck (2000) explains it as a new world society, or, in fact, “world horizon” characterized by “interaction across national frontiers, in dense networks with a high degree of mutual dependence and obligation” (p. 12). Further, this new world arrangement, predicated on the growth of the internet and information and communication technologies, suggests the inevitable blurring of boundaries— physical, communicative, and cultural—between individuals, economies, and sociopolitical structures. The en masse globalization of the world means the establishment of a heterogeneous global community of “…people that have come together around some common variable” (Lankes, 2012, p. 75). What is this common variable now, in the third decade of the twenty-first century? Trembach / International Journal of Librarianship 7(2) 70 Despite the skepticism expressed by some (Lyon, 2013) regarding the rhetoric of information revolution or a global information society as the drastic paradigmatic shift in which economic relations are no longer organized on the basis of material goods, it can hardly be denied today that the power of information (taken as a sociopolitical construct) has altered numerous forms of human activity, sometimes changing the very substance of this activity. As communities unite around and via the power of information they exchange, in order to function as productive, thriving members of this new globalized society, they collectively navigate toward the idea of global citizenship, defined as “a voluntary association with a concept that signifies ways of thinking and living within multiple cross-cutting communities—cities, regions, states, nations, and international collectives” (Schattle, 2008, p. 9). In more specific terms, global citizenship can also be understood as “the belief that individuals are members of multiple, diverse, local and non-local networks rather than single actors affecting isolated societies” (United Nations, n.d.). Public libraries are known and valued for their community-building function. To bring the conceptualization of global citizenship more in line with the rest of the argument in this overview, how can libraries inspire and help share the tenets of global citizenship? Scott (2011) articulates the connection between access to information (still a core function of libraries) and their origins as community builders striving to foster civic engagement, encourage social inclusion, and promote equitable educational and community involvement opportunities for all. It follows, then, that from the earlier days of readers advisory services to multicultural users to contemporary holistic forms of support rendered to minorities and other marginalized constituencies, public libraries in the United States have never surrendered their firm position of social activism at the forefront of the diversity and social justice movement. CONCLUSION Despite the sometimes troubled and rocky past, the future of library services to multicultural populations seems to be bright, full of meaning and promise. To begin with, it is unlikely that the rich diversity of our society will become less colorful or disappear altogether. A reaction of pride and a growing realization of the importance of history and heritage go hand in hand with the natural blurring of cultural divisions that occurs when the geographical and political boundaries matter less in a highly globalized, interconnected world. There is much to value, much to preserve, and still much to foster because assimilation may not always be equal to awareness, appreciation, and education. Accordingly, there is a renewed emphasis today on the global community of information users and community-strengthening initiatives targeting Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, Italian Americans, and other multicultural populations. The knowledge and values these communities possess bring about compelling tales of perseverance and courage, tales of rising to the challenge of adjusting to a new country and a new culture--ultimately making it their own. Public libraries have remained vital to the process as they are tasked with safeguarding and sharing the large reserves of cultural capital they accumulate by virtue of their work (Goulding, 2008). In this melting pot of ethnic representations, it is critical for library and information professions not only to utilize the specialized multicultural resources at their disposal and offer services tailored Trembach / International Journal of Librarianship 7(2) 71 to the needs of multicultural populations but to learn how to better embrace and celebrate their extraordinary diversity. References Abdullahi, I. (1991). Library services to multicultural populations. In A. Kent (Ed.). Encyclopedia of library and information science (vol. 48, pp. 259-270). Marcel Dekker, Inc. Abdullahi, I. (1993). Multicultural issues for readers' advisory services. Collection Building, 12 (3-4), 85-88. Alaska Library Association. (2018). Culturally responsive guidelines for Alaska Public Libraries. https://akla.org/publications/culturally-responsive-guidelines/ American Library Association. (2008). 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Palgrave Macmillan. Young, J. G. (2017). Making America 1920 again? Nativism and U.S. immigration, past and present. Journal on Migration and Human Security, 5(1), 217-235. ______________________________________________________________________________ About the author Stan Trembach is Assistant Professor at the School of Library and Information Management, Emporia State University. His research spans equitable access to information for diverse and multicultural communities, multiple literacies in the 21st century information society, and library leadership and management. 259-Trembach-title-page 259-Trembach-Article-Text