Sharing the Same Space in the Same Building by Stephanie Brown

I have a staff of thirty-seven people who work for me at a public library in Irvine, California and nearly half of them are immigrants to the United States. I think it’s safe to say that the majority of the patrons are recent immigrants and their children. There are large Korean, Indian, Persian, Taiwanese and Chinese communities in Irvine, and smaller groups of people from eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Japan. Neighboring cities have other large identified neighborhoods, the most well-known being Little Saigon in the northern part of the county.

I had lunch recently with some of the ten young women from Korea who volunteer to help us add Korean language books to the collection. Ten to fifteen years younger than I with the energy and commitment of young mothers everywhere, they described their many activities: the PTA, their churches, after school activities with their kids, their group which meets once a month at the library to help “new arrivals” (their words) acclimate to the culture. They talked about the mayor who is from Korea; he is the first Korean mayor of a major city in the U.S. We ate together at a Japanese restaurant. At one point they talked about the Japanese occupation of Korea. Another group of their friends volunteers at the library and conducts a weekly Korean language story time for kids. The daily experience at the reference desk is helping a child without an accent and a mother or father with one. When I walk from the check-out desk to my office in the back of the building, I walk past our tables of computers and on a daily basis I see that about half are occupied by women wearing hijab. All the local shopping center store names are in a variety of languages, small businesses owned by local residents, side by side with a Jamba Juice or Subway.

On average, our library sees over 1,000 patrons come through our doors each day. In 2009, we checked out over one million items. Even on a Friday before the Fourth of July weekend, we are filled with people sitting and reading, working on a project with other people, bringing in their children to find books, using one of our computers or working on their laptops. We provide everything from the most diversionary reading to free WiFi to help finding information on how to start a business or find a job. We can provide a tutor to learn English. One tutor and learner used to use my office to work in, and a few times I worked at my desk while they worked at a table together, a twentysomething African-American woman teaching a fortysomething Arabic woman in hijab how to read English. I witnessed the day when their work together ended; the learner shed tears of gratitude as they hugged goodbye.  

On July 3, thinking about United States on the day before Independence Day, what I find best about the United States is that all these people are living here and working on what they’re working on, sharing the same space in the same building. I’m glad to be part of the public library, which stands for the ideals of bettering oneself through learning (with or without school) and is open to all. It exists because we believe in free speech and uncensored print as well as an uncensored internet. It exists because we provide civic services to people. The majority of people never talk to us, they just come in and get what they need, or work quietly without conversation. We provide a space for their thought, reflection, and work.

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Thank you Stacey and David for an exhilarating week!--SB

Comments

[Margot Clarke]

I've tutored adult ESL in Irvine for about14 years and I'm certain I've learned as much from my "students" as they have learned from me! This is a city rich in diversity (except in residential architecture).

Also--love the banner! Looks like 4th graders made it. ;^D

[Stacey]

THis is a moving and inspiring post. Public libraries really are among the most wonderful institutions we have. Thank you for reminding me why.

[Amy Holman]

This is great, Stephanie, and especially the enthusiasm for sharing that is engendered there.

[Elisa Pulido]

Fabulous article for the eve of the 4th of July. The public library is among the most democratic spaces in America. Thank you for sharing your librarian's perspective, Stephanie

[Derek]

The free public library is America; we are its products one and all.

[Alicia Zach]

This post brings up so many good points about what our libraries provide for new immigrants. I wish the powers that be would consider these services more before they cut funding for libraries.

[Karen Emerson]

Look around at our libraries. People from all over the world sharing the experience of the library, everyone is getting along. Great piece Stephaine.