From 1876 to 1924--a period of free immigration--the mission of
the American public library in its work with immigrants was to
Americanize the immigrants by teaching them English and preparing
them for citizenship. From 1924 to 1948--a period of restricted
immigration--the mission of the American public library in its work
with immigrants was to educate the adult immigrant and to
internationalize the American community. Together, the public
library and the immigrant community have shaped and perpetuated the
national understanding of the value of ethnicity and
internationalism to American society. The American public
librarians took on the roles of advocates for immigrant rights,
social workers, propagandists for the American way, and
educators.
At the end of the twentieth century, as at the beginning,
Americans are still debating the place of immigrants in American
society. Public librarians are now as they were then, going about
their duties and responsibilities of providing advice and materials
to help immigrants, legal and illegal, cope with everyday life in
America. The American public library has remained a sovereign
alchemist, turning the base metal of immigrant potentialities into
the gold of American realities.
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