Immigrant Information Practices

1
Immigrant Information Practices Social
Inclusion Envisioning a Role for LSP

• Danielle Allard
• Faculty of Information, University of Toronto
• allard_at_fis.utoronto.ca
• Presented at the Library Settlement Partnerships
  Launch
• October 29th, 2008

2
Introduction

• Purpose
• introduce key paradigms and common language to
  LSP project stakeholders
• introduce important research in LIS field
• Agenda
• introduce concepts of information practices and
  social inclusion
• initiate discussion about how these concepts
  might impact LSP service provision, partnerships,
  and goals

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Defining Information Practices

• Information practices an umbrella term that
  captures the complex ways that individuals
  actively or indirectly look for information to
  help them make sense of their lives
• Includes
• information needs
• information pathways and sources
• information barriers

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Immigrants Information Practices I

• Little is known about the information practices
  of immigrants because they are a heterogeneous
  group at different stages of the immigration
  process.
• New immigrants are at greater risk of lacking
  access to information sources because they may be
  unfamiliar with Canadian information environment.
• Newcomers need to establish new patterns of
  information seeking and new information sources
  in a culturally alien information environment
  (Mehra Papajohn, 2007).

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Immigrants Information Practices II

• Social networks are significant information
  sources for vulnerable populations, but many
  new immigrants do not have social networks when
  they arrive in Canada.
• New immigrants are at risk of becoming
  information poor.
• Information poverty lacking necessary
  resources such as adequate social networks and
  information finding skills that enable everyday
  information seeking (Chatman, 1996)

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Are New Immigrants Information Poor?

• Yes
• They may have small local networks
• They may not participate in local civic life
• They may be unfamiliar with Canadian information
  environment
• They may live in poverty

• No
• They may have large transnational networks
• Their transnational network ties may be well off,
  well educated, and well connected
• They may use international information sources
• They may be well educated
• Poverty may be temporary

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Literature Review Summary of Information
Practices of Immigrants I

• Immigrants tend to prefer to seek information
  from other human sources, particularly other
  immigrants (Fisher et al, 2004 Silvio, 2006).
• Trust may play a large role in selecting
  information sources (Fisher et al, 2004 Sligo
  Jameson, 2000).
• Language may play a large role in selecting
  information sources (Liu Redford, 1997).

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Literature Review Summary of Information
Practices of Immigrants II

• Information practices may build local and
  transnational social networks (Chien, 2005
  Salaff Greve, 2003).
• Information practices may foster civic engagement
  (Dechief, 2006).
• Immigrants use the internet for the purposes of
  maintaining, and exploring aspects of their
  ethno-cultural identity (Aizlewood Doody,
  2002).
• International sources such as websites may create
  feelings of closeness with home (Sampredo, 1998).
  

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Defining Social Inclusion I

• Roots in French and UK social policy
• Social inclusion initially described the need for
  integration of the socially excluded in order to
  increase social cohesion.
• Today it describes the inclusion of marginalized
  persons into a society based on the terms by
  which they choose to be included (Laidlaw
  Foundation).

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Defining Social Inclusion II

• Many immigrants are at risk of being socially
  excluded as newcomers to Canada, their social
  and economic situations are precarious.
• Social inclusion is a multifaceted process
  requiring individuals to be included into society
  and their communities on various fronts
  (economic, cultural, social, political, etc.)
• It requires the active and deliberate dismantling
  of barriers and creation of opportunities to
  foster inclusion.

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Information and Social Inclusion

• Lack of information or lack of meaningful access
  to information is a fundamental facet of social
  inclusion those without proper access to
  information risk being socially excluded.
• Information provision is a key component of
  social inclusion (Caidi Allard, 2005).

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Public Libraries and Social Inclusion

• Public libraries should become socially inclusive
  spaces, in terms of their policies,
  infrastructure and service provision
• E.g. hours of service, language of service,
  programming, mandate
• BUT.public libraries also contribute to the
  overall inclusion of immigrants into their
  Canadian neighbourhoods and communities.

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Social Inclusion and LSP Program I

• LSP can contribute to social inclusion for
  immigrants through out the settlement process,
  through
• information provision (settlement, citizenship,
  leisure, employment)
• Community building and civic engagement
• Fostering literacies (ESL, digital, cultural)
• Incorporating newcomers into traditional library
  activities

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Social inclusion and LSP program II

• Challenge for libraries is to strike a balance
  between addressing the specific needs of
  immigrants with their mandate to serve the
  general population
• Libraries have a history of providing services to
  marginalized groups.
• With the help of settlement agencies, they can
  adapt their previous experience to providing
  services to immigrant communities.
• LSP creates the opportunity for personalized,
  culturally specific information provision to a
  wide number of immigrants at various stages in
  the immigration process.

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In Lieu of a Conclusion

• Information providers must take into
  consideration the complex location of immigrant
  lives - including the resources they have,
  barriers they face, and their understandings of
  the world.
• A social inclusion approach will draw on the
  strengths within immigrants lives to facilitate
  their inclusion into a world shaped and
  articulated by immigrants and native born
  alike.
• But what does social inclusion mean, in a real
  and concrete sense, for LSP?

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Thank you

• Further comments and questions can be directed
  to
• Danielle Allard
• Faculty of Information, University of Toronto
• allard_at_fis.utoronto.ca
• Dr. Nadia Caidi
• Faculty of Information, University of Toronto
• nadia.caidi_at_utoronto.ca
• Susan MacDonald
• Faculty of Information, University of Toronto
• susan.macdonald_at_utoronto.ca

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References I

• Aizlewood, A. and Doody, M. (2002). Seeking
  Community on the Internet Ethnocultural Use of
  Information Communication Technology. Hull,
  Québec Department of Heritage Canada.
• Caidi, N., Allard, D. (2005). Social inclusion
  of newcomers to Canada An information problem?
  Library Information Science Research, 27(3),
  302-324.
• Caidi, N., Allard, D., Dechief, D. (2008).
  Information practices of immigrants to Canada A
  review of the literature. Unpublished Report to
  Citizenship and Immigration Canada. Metropolis
• Caidi, N., Allard, D., Quirke, L.
  Metoyer-Duran, C. (forthcoming). Immigrants and
  their Information Practices. In Annual Review of
  Information Science Technology (ARIST)
• Chatman, E. A. (1996). The impoverished life
  world of outsiders. Journal of the
• American Society for Information Science, 47,
  193-206.

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References II

• Chien, E. (2005). Informing and Involving
  Newcomers Online Users Perspectives of
  Settlement.Org. Thesis (MISt.) University of
  Toronto.
• Dechief, D. (2006). Recent Immigrants as an
  "Alternate Civic Core" Providing Internet
  Services, Gaining "Canadian Experiences. Thesis
  (M.A.) Concordia University.
• Fisher, K., Marcoux, E., Miller, L.S., Sanchez,
  A., Ramirez, E. (2004). Information behaviour
  of migrant farm workers and their families in the
  Pacific Northwest. Information Research, 10(1).
• George, U., Fong, E., Da, W.W. Chang, R.
  (2004). Citizenship and Immigration Canada,
  Ontario Region Settlement Directorate response
  to Recommendations for the delivery of services
  to Mandarin speaking newcomers from Mainland
  China. Joint Centre of Excellence for Research
  on Immigration and Settlement Toronto.
• Liu, M. Redford, R. (1997). Information-seeking
  behavior of multicultural students A case study
  at San Jose State University. College Research
  Libraries, July, 348-354.
• Mehra, B. and Papajohn, D. (2007). Glocal
  Patterns of Communication-Information
  Convergences in Internet Use Cross Cultural
  Behaviour of International Teaching Assistants in
  a Culturally Alien Information Environment,
  International Information Library Review, 39,
  12-30

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References III

• Mwarigha, M.S. (2002). Towards a framework for
  local responsibility Taking action to end the
  current limbo in immigrant settlement - Toronto.
  Toronto Maytree Foundation.
• Salaff, J. and Greve, A. (2003). Social Networks
  and Entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship Theory
  Practice, 28(1), 1 22.
• Sampredo, V. (1998). Grounding the displaced
  Local media reception in a transnational context.
  Journal of Communication, x, 125-143.
• Savolainen, R. (1995). Everyday life information
  seeking Approaching information seeking in the
  context of way of life. Library Information
  Science Research, 17, 259-294.
• Silvio, D.H. (2006). The information needs and
  information seeking behaviour of immigrant
  southern Sudanese youth in the city of London,
  Ontario an exploratory study. Library Review,
  55(4), 259-266.
• Sligo, F. Jameson, A. (2000). The knowledge
  behaviour gap in use of health information
  Cervical screen for Pacific immigrants living in
  New Zealand. Journal of the American Society for
  Information Science Technology. 51(9), 858-869.