Immigrants’ Perception on the Moorhead Public Library 1

Immigrants’ Perception on the Moorhead Public Library

Research Proposal
Lisa Trana
Kent State University Ohio
Word Count (3,575)
 Immigrants’ Perception on the Moorhead Public Library 2

Introduction:

The purpose of this study is gain a better understanding of immigrants’ library

perceptions to be able to better improve their library experiences. In 2017, there were 49,780,00

people who were born in other countries living in the United States, according to the Pew

Research Center (2018). This is an increase from 2010, when there were 44, 180,000 people

from other countries living in the United States (Pew Research Center, 2018). In Minnesota, the

American Immigration Council has stated that more that 8 percent of the population is

comprised of immigrants, and another almost 7 percent are native-born US citizens who have at

least one immigrant parent (2017). Most members of Minnesota’s immigrant population are from

Mexico, India, Somalia, Laos, and Ethiopia (American Immigration Council, 2017).

Within the community of Moorhead, the population diversity is gradually increasing. In

2010, white residents still comprised 90 percent of the population in Moorhead (City of

Moorhead, n.d.). By 2015, white residents comprised 87.6 percent of the population in

Moorhead (Data USA, n.d.). In 2015, 2,474 citizens of Moorhead were speakers of a non-

English language (Data USA, n.d.). Spanish, other Indo-European languages, and Arabic are the

most commonly spoken languages in Moorhead besides English (Data USA, n.d.). The American

Immigration Council stated that 77.5% of the immigrants in Minnesota reported that they could

speak English “well” or “very well” (2017a). Despite that high percentage of immigrants

speaking English well, it is still important to be able to provide services for those who still

building their English proficiency or wish to enjoy materials in their home language.

The Moorhead Public Library is part of a library consortium system known as the Lake

Agassiz Regional Library. Within the Regional Library, there are thirteen branches and nine link

sites (Lake Agassiz Regional Library, n.d.a). Lake Agassiz Regional Library also has access to
 Immigrants’ Perception on the Moorhead Public Library 3

the Northwest Regional Library System collection. In our entire consortium system including

Northwest’s, the Moorhead Public Library has access to 528 materials in Spanish according to

the card catalogue (Lake Agassiz Regional Library, n.d.d). However, the majority of these

materials are children’s books. Within our system, only the children and junior Spanish books

are shelved together at the Moorhead library. The few Spanish adult fiction books are shelved

within the normal collection. Beyond Spanish, the library has an extremely limited foreign

language collection. Although Arabic is the third most commonly spoken language in the

Moorhead area according to Data USA, , there are only three Arabic items within the library

collection all of which are movies (Lake Agassiz Regional Library, n.d.b). None of the

Moorhead Public Library’s programs have been offered in any language other than English.

Although the city’s demographics may not show a high percentage of immigrants, the library

should still provide more for the multilingual and multicultural members of the population.

Research Questions:

This study will attempt to determine how immigrants perceive the Moorhead Public

Library, its collection, services, and programs. Additional sub-questions this study will try to

answer about immigrants in the community are:

 What do they think of our current multilingual/ESL collection?

 What are their first impressions of the Moorhead Public Library?

 Are they aware of the services and programs that the library has?

 Do they wish those programs and services were offered in other languages?

Literature Review:

Research on immigrants’ perception of public libraries is fairly limited. The limitations

of research in this field are acknowledged by Linden, Bartlett, and Beheshti, who studied
 Immigrants’ Perception on the Moorhead Public Library 4

immigrants’ perception of public libraries in Canada ( 2014). Linden, Bartlett, and Beheshti’s

study focused on five categories: first visit, collection impressions, the program and services

awareness, and their perception of library staff (2014). Other aspects of perception were

discussed by Branyon (2017). Branyon discusses how immigrant mothers use libraries for

cultural assimilation and language acquisition (2017). Branyon also stresses how important the

library is for cultural assimilation, even arguing that the libraries may be the most important tool

in achieving cultural assimilation (2017).

Perception of Library Collection

An aspect that factors into overall perception of the library, as Linden, Bartlett, and

Beheshti mentioned is the library’s collection (2014). An important finding in this study was that

although the immigrants appreciated the library’s multilingual collection, they often found it

outdated and limited (Linden, Bartlett, Beheshti, 2014). Atlestam, Brunnstrom, and Myhre

discussed this same perception about the collections of libraries in Sweden and Denmark

(2011). Dali discusses the importance of not only having books written in other languages by

authors from different countries, but of having English books translated into the other languages

(2010). Dali points out that assuming that immigrants wish to read only books from their home

countries is an incorrect perspective (2010). Often , immigrants wish to learn more about their

new country, and being able to read English books in their own language is a great way to do so

(Dali, 2010).

Perception of Library Programs

Programs also factor into perceptions of libraries . However, often immigrants are

unaware of their library’s programs. In the study of Hmong communities in the United States,

Vang found that often Hmong people do not know about the programs offered at their libraries,
 Immigrants’ Perception on the Moorhead Public Library 5

because those programs are not publicized in the Hmong community (2004). In a study by

Picco, the International Federation of Library Associations and Institution’s 1998’s Multicultural

Communities Guidelines for Service was referenced and from that guideline it was felt that

cultural activities should be offered for the same reasons as having a multicultural collection:

educational value for both the immigrants and community at large and for helping immigrants be

able to feel connected to their home country (2008). Linden, Bartlett, and Beheshti also pointed

out that even though some of their participants were aware of some programs, such as the book

club, those participants felt that the book selected was too long or complicated for an English

learner (2014).

Perception of Library Services

Services for immigrants also influence an immigrant’s perceptions of their libraries. In

the conclusion of her research on the Spanish-language community in Washington, Herring

recommended that libraries should have a Spanish-language option for the card catalogue, along

with Spanish-language material records (2005). Linden, Bartlett, and Beheshti pointed out that

many of their participants were unaware of services offered to or targeted toward immigrants

(2014). In Birdi, Wilson, and Mansoor’s research, a participant stated that, “I think that library

authorities need to put a lot more effort into ensuring that their stock and other services reflect

the diverse make-up of their local community” (p.124, 2011).

Community Perceptions of Multilingual Materials

Collection, programs, and services all contribute to immigrants’ experiences at libraries.

Not only do they influence immigrants’ experiences at libraries, but they also influence the other
 Immigrants’ Perception on the Moorhead Public Library 6

people in the community. In Birdi, Wilson, and Mansoor’s research of ethnic diversity in

libraries in the UK, they discovered that even in areas of low ethnic diversity people wanted

ethnic minority materials (2011). Participants recognized that materials in diverse languages and

which represent diverse cultures have an educational value for all members of the community.

In the words of one study participant, “When you’re providing stock with an ethnic minority

remit, you’ve got another opportunity there, which is you’ve got an educational value for those

people who aren’t from ethnic minorities.” The participant noted that diverse options can “at

least acclimatize people to the fact that there are other cultures out there and there are other ways

of looking at the world” (Birdi, Wilson, & Mansoor, 2011, p.125). Dancs states in his study that

libraries are meant to be bridges that connect people from different backgrounds (2018).

Immigrants’ perception of collection, programs, and services as well as the surrounding

community’s perceptions influence their library experience. This study will strive to determine

how to improve that experience for immigrants who visit the Moorhead Public Library.

Research Methods:

The research will be completed through a qualitative approach, using focus groups and

individual interviews as the methods of data collection. Qualitative research is more focused on

the meaning behind something rather than the statistics surrounding it that quantitative research

focuses on (Connaway & Radford, 2017). Since this study intends to explore the experiences of

immigrants within the community of Moorhead, MN community and to discover their

perceptions of the Moorhead Public Library, qualitative methods are the most appropriate for this

study because the methods are focused on meaning rather than statistics. Individuals identified as

immigrants for the purpose of this study could have recently moved to the Moorhead area or
Immigrants’ Perception on the Moorhead Public Library 7

have lived in the area for a long time. Ideally, study participants should be first or second-

generation immigrants, and should speak the language of their country of origin. It would also

be ideal for participants to be from Spanish speaking countries, Indo-European speaking

countries, or Arabic speaking countries as those are currently the top three immigrant

populations in Moorhead (Data USA, n.d.). Participants will also need to be 18 or older for this

study.

When recruiting participants for this study, I intend to reach out to services in the area

that focus on helping immigrants. Two organizations I would contact would be the Immigrant

Development Center and the Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota. The Immigrant

Development Center is geared toward helping its members “achieve economic independence”

(Immigrant Development Center, n.d.). The Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota is more

centered on helping immigrants with the legal paperwork for becoming a citizen or obtaining a

green card or visa (Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota, n.d.). The Moorhead office of the

Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota would also be a good location to contact . I would speak

with people working at these locations and ask them to help spread the word about my research.

I would be looking for at least 14 participants total. At each of the locations, I would leave my

contact information and some flyers with more information about my research. I would also put

up flyers within the library. Finally, I would post about the study on the library’s Facebook page.

Once at least 14 participants show interest, I would begin the next stage of research: conducting

focus groups and interviews.

I would have two focus groups with seven participants each and would individually

interview each of the 14 participants as well. Before any of the focus groups or interviews, I

would have the participants read and sign an interview consent form (Connaway & Radford,
 Immigrants’ Perception on the Moorhead Public Library 8

2017). I would also explain the research process and, how I would take measures to keep their

data confidential and anonymous. If they felt uncomfortable with anything at any time during

their participation in the study, I would assure them that they would be welcome to leave and that

leaving would not affect them. As English may not be the participant’s first language, it would

be useful to know before the focus group what the seven participant’s first languages are so that I

can provide a translator for each language. If the participants in a specific focus group all spoke

the same language as their first language, I could ask a translator to lead the focus group in the

participant’s first language. The focus group would last between an hour and an hour and a

half. Focus groups would meet at the library in one of the meeting rooms. I would ask a series of

ten questions. These questions are shown in Appendix A. During the focus groups, I would be

recording everything, along with taking notes in a notebook.

A couple days after the focus groups, I would begin to do individual interviews with the

fourteen participants. These interviews would be similar to the focus groups; however, the

questions would be more in-depth and more personal for each participant, as well as being in

their first language or the language they are most comfortable speaking in. Before the interview,

I would find out from the participant which language they are most comfortable speaking in. If

the language was something other than English, I would hire a translator to conduct the

individual interview in the other language. The individual interviews would also take place in a

meeting room at the library and would last about an hour. During the interview, I would record

everything, along with taking notes. The 27 individual interview questions are shown in

Appendix B.

Following interviews and focus groups, recordings will be transcribed. After being

transcribed, I would ask the translators to translate and transcribe the information into English.
 Immigrants’ Perception on the Moorhead Public Library 9

Each participant will be assigned a number, such as P1 or P2. In the transcribed scripts from the

focus groups and interviews, instead of listing names, I will put the participant’s number.

However, I will keep a code book with the participant’s names and number assigned to them,

until I no longer have need to potentially contact the participants again. From the script and my

notes, I will use that information to create a coding schema.

During this creation of a coding schema and for the duration of the coding process, I will

have a second person helping me. I will be using the grounded theory, which does not impose

previous coding schemas on the data but allows the schema to be created during the process of

using the constant comparative method (Connaway & Radford, 2017). For analyzation, I will be

combining the grounded theory and the constant comparative method to create the code. The

constant comparative method a common method for analyzing qualitative data (Connaway &

Radford, 2017). As I will be not using a common schema for analysis, I will start out by reading

through the transcripts and identifying any broad categories. I will then sort the data into the

broad categories I initially identified. From these categories, I will look for common themes or

patterns. From the common themes and patterns, I will develop a basic code.

In this basic code, I will also start to identify “in vivo codes” (Connaway & Radford,

2017, p. 298). “In vivo codes” are codes that are developed directly from the data. The three

main types are general terms, unique terms that a participant used to express their point of view,

and terms that are only used by the participant’s group (Connaway & Radford, 2017). When

using “in vivo codes,” I will also be looking for participant quotes that accurately represent and

illustrate my coding categories. From the basic code, I will look for larger theoretical aspects of

the data. Once, I have a tentative final code developed, I will test it on a small portion of the data.

If the tentative final code does not match the data, I will go back to comparing and contrasting,
Immigrants’ Perception on the Moorhead Public Library 10

asking questions, and looking for new themes or patterns of the data to create a different code. If

it does match, I will use it on the rest of the data, and that code will become my final code.

I anticipate reporting this data in narrative sections, similar to how Linden, Bartlett, and

Beheshti (2014) and Branyon (2017) presented their findings. Accompanying the narrative

sections, there will also be tables with relevant information such as a summary of key participant

information like Linden, Bartlett, and Beheshti used in their research (2014). However, I believe

like this research could be useful for other small to medium small libraries in communities that

are predominately white. It could shed some light on how the ethnic minorities feel in those

communities, and hopefully build a bridge between the community and those minority

populations. I also think it will help broaden perspectives of everyone in the community, and

potentially prepare the community for the future, if the demographics ever shift to a higher

percentage of ethnic minorities. The study could also help the library to weed their multilingual

collection and know how to keep it more current and relevant, even if items are more limited.

This research could also lead to new ideas for programs and services .

I would estimate that this entire study would take between seven months to a year.

Promotion and recruiting may take up to three months, as it may be hard to find an adequate

number of participants . Once recruited, creating times for focus groups and interviews that

work with everyone’s schedules will probably take around two weeks. The focus groups and

individual interviews times could take up to a month, since there would be two focus groups

times and fourteen individual interview times. Once the data is collected, I estimate that it would

take approximately two to three months of full time work to transcribe and analyze all recordings

and notes. Once everything is analyzed, working on the presentation of the data may take another

month or two.
Immigrants’ Perception on the Moorhead Public Library 11

Potential Limitations:

There are many possible limitations of this research. The number of participants may be

too small to accurately represent the immigrant populations in the community. Also depending

on participants’ country of origins, the information could be skewed in ways that do not reflect

the diversity of the immigrant community. As Connaway and Radford mentioned, there are

several inherent limitations of focus groups, as well, such higher costs (2017). Connaway and

Radford stated that each focus group session could cost up to $2,500 (p. 256, 2017). The cost is

caused reasons such as: compensation for the participants, room rental, translator fees and

possibly transcriber fees. If one chooses not to hire a transcriber, transcription and analysis is

quite time-consuming, and therefore time is not monetary, it is still valuable. Another limitation

would be that I am not fluent in the participants’ first language, unless it is English (University of

Southern California Library, 2018). This means I will need to rely on the translator’s translations

of the focus groups and interviews.

However, the main limitations I will need to be aware of is bias. Bias is when something

is portrayed inaccurately consistently (USC Library Lib Guide, 2018). Connaway and Radford

discussed that both focus groups and interviews are methods that are highly susceptible to bias

(2017, p. 249 & p. 256). This is because of the structure of an interview. The interviewer could

cause interviewer bias if the interviewer does not remain neutral towards the participant’s

responses (Connaway & Radford, 2017, p. 249). The University of Southern California (USC)

Library’s Lib Guide also discusses how bias is something to be aware of for any research (2018).

Bias could appear in how I interpret the data and research in regards to my research questions.

The USC Library’s Lib Guide discusses how bias can be positive or negative (2018). It can be a
Immigrants’ Perception on the Moorhead Public Library 12

positive bias if I only focused on research that supported my research questions (University of

Southern California Library, 2018). However, no matter if it is a positive or negative bias, a

researcher most try to avoid both ends of the spectrum and remain neutral.

Research Quality:

To maintain quality of research, for the focus groups and interviews , I will try to

maintain “reliability, validity, objectivity, and generalizability” which are considered to be the

“touchstones” of quality as determined by Marshall and Rossman (as cited in Connaway &

Radford, 2017, p. 314). Lincoln and Guba and Sandelowski also recommends adding in a truth

value, applicability, consistency, and comparability (Connaway & Radford, 2017). In an effort to

fulfill these categories, I will try to make sure that everything I present is truthful and repeatable.

If someone else was to follow my methods and analysis, I would want them to be able to come to

the same or at least similar conclusions. . Therefore, everything I do needs to be clear and

understandable.

To avoid bias within my data, I will try to follow Miles, Huberman, and Saldana’s tactics

of “(a) checking for representativeness, (b) weighing evidence, (c) making if-then tests, and (d)

getting feedback from informants” (as cited in Connaway & Radford, 2017, p. 315). Other

possible ways I could avoid bias would be to follow Guba’s suggestions (1981). Guba mentions

two ways to avoid bias which are to “insulate the investigator” and to “do triangulation practice

reflexivity (audit trail) and to “do confirmability audit (product)” (Guba, 1981, p.82-83).

Insulating the investigator essentially means that the research methods are available to the public,

repeatable, and the investigator is not within direct contact of the subject (Guba, 1981). For

triangulation, it seems it is just when a lot of data is collected from many perspectives to ensure
Immigrants’ Perception on the Moorhead Public Library 13

that the researcher’s bias is tested completely (Guba, 1981). The reflexivity aspect is about

sharing with others your thoughts on how you created your questions, so that they can help point

out any potential bias (Guba, 1981). The confirmability audit will take the data to confirm that it

supports the other interpretations of the existing data and that it was done consistently (Guba,

1981).

When coding my data, I will have a second person help create the codes and assist in the

coding process . This will help maintain the validity of my coding, as Connaway and Radford

states that having only one coder is inadequate (2017). I will also perform an interrater

reliability check or ICR with the other coder (Connaway & Radford, 2017). When coding, if our

agreement on the coded section is too low, I will discuss conclusions with the other coder until

an agreement can be reached.

For the limitation that I am not fluent in the participants language, perhaps, I could use

two translators to ensure that meanings are not getting lost in translation.
Immigrants’ Perception on the Moorhead Public Library 14

References

American Immigration Council. (2017). Immigrants in Minnesota. American Immigration

Council. Retrieved from

https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/immigrants-in- minnesota

Atlestam, I., Brunnstrom, A. C. and Myhre, R. (2011). Collection development for immigrants –

what to purchase, and why? Findings in Gothenburg, Sweden. International Federation

of Library Associations and Institutions. 37(1). 69–79. doi: 10.1177/0340035210397308.

Birdi, B., Wilson, K., and Mansoor, S. (2011). ‘What we should strive for is Britishness’: An

Altitudinal Investigation of Ethnic Diversity and the Public Library. Journal of

Librarianship and Information Science. 44 (2). 118-128. doi:

10.1177/0961000611426299.

Branyon, A. P. (2017). “A Home for Me When I Am So Far from Home”: Perceptions of

Libraries by Immigrant Mothers in Language Acquisition and Cultural Acclimation.

Public Library Quarterly. 36 (3). 185-198. doi:

https://doi.org/10.1080/01616846.2017.1316147

City of Moorhead (n.d.). Demographics. City of Moorhead. Retrieved from

http://www.cityofmoorhead.com/about-the-city/demographics
Immigrants’ Perception on the Moorhead Public Library 15

Connaway, L.S. and Radford, M. L. (2017). Research Methods in Library and Information

Science 6th ed. Libraries Unlimited. Santa Barbara: CA.

Dali, K. (2010). Readers’ Advisory in Public Libraries and Translated Fiction. The Reference

Librarian, 51. 175–188. doi: 10.1080/02763871003733430

Dancs, S. (2018). Information Seeking and/or Identity Seeking: Libraries as Sources of Cultural

Identity. Library Management. 39 (1/2). 12-20. doi: 10.1108/LM-03-2017-0034

Data USA. (n.d.). Data USA: Moorhead, MN. Data USA. Retrieved from

https://datausa.io/profile/geo/moorhead-mn/#demographics

Guba, E. (1981). Criteria for Assessing the Trustworthiness of Naturalistic

Inquiries. Education Communication and Technology Journal. 29. 75-91.

Herring, S. (2005). Meeting The Information Needs Of A Community: A Case Study of Services

to Spanish Speaking Patrons at the Pasco Branch of the Mid-Columbia Library District.

PNLA Quarterly, 69(3), 5-25.

Immigrant Development Center. (n.d.). Home. Immigrant Development Center. Retrieved from

http://www.idcfm.org/
Immigrants’ Perception on the Moorhead Public Library 16

Lake Agassiz Regional Library. (n.d.a). About. Lake Agassiz Regional Library. Retrieved from

http://larl.org/about/

Lake Agassiz Regional Library. (n.d.b). Arabic Language Material search. Lake Agassiz

Regional Library. Retrieved from

http://egcatalog.larl.org/eg/opac/results?bool=and&qtype=keyword&contains=contains&

query=&bool=and&qtype=title&contains=contains&query=&bool=and&qtype=author&

contains=contains&query=&_adv=1&detail_record_view=0&fi%3Aitem_lang=ara&locg

=102&pubdate=is&date1=&date2=&sort=

Lake Agassiz Regional Library. (n.d.d). Spanish Language Material search. Lake Agassiz

Regional Library. Retrieved from

http://egcatalog.larl.org/eg/opac/results?query=pref_ou%28LARL%29%20%20item_lang

%28spa %29;qtype=keyword;locg=1;detail_record_view=0;_adv=1;page=10;long_facet

=identifiergenre

Linden, K., Bartlett, J., and Beheshti, J. (2014). New Immigrants’ Perceptions and Awareness of

Public Library Services. The Canadian Journal of Information and Library Science. 38

(2). 65-79.

Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota. (n.d.). Immigration Services. Lutheran Social Service of

Minnesota. Retrieved from http://www.lssmn.org/refugeeservices/imigration/

Immigrants’ Perception on the Moorhead Public Library 17

Pew Research Center. (2018). Origins and Destinations of the World’s Migrants, 1990-2017.

Pew Research Center. Retrieved from http://www.pewglobal.org/2018/02/28/global-

migrant-stocks/?country=US&date=2017

Picco, M. P. (2008). Multicultural Libraries' services and social integration: The case of public

libraries in Montreal Canada. Public Library Quarterly, 27(1), 41-56. doi:

10.1080/01616840802122443.

University of Southern California Library. (2018). Limitations of the Study. Organizing Your

Social Sciences Research Paper. Retrieved

from http://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/limitations

Vang, V. (2004). Public Library Services to the Hmong-American Community: Much Room for

Improvement. LIBRES: Library & Information Science Research Electronic

Journal, 14(1), 2.
Immigrants’ Perception on the Moorhead Public Library 18

Appendix A:
Focus Group Questions:

1. What did you think the public library would be like here?

2. When was your first visit to the library here?

3. Why did you first visit the library?

4. Did you have any expectations for the library? Did the library meet those expectations?

5.What do you like most about the library?

6. What do you dislike most about the library?

7. Is there anything that is ok currently, but could be improved at the library?

8. What do you think about the programs offered at the library?

9.What do you think of the multilingual collection?

10.What is your overall impression of the library?

Appendix B:

Interview Questions:

1. When did you move here to Moorhead?

2. Where did you move from?

3. What was your/or parent’s country of origin?

4. How old are you?

5. What is your annual household income?

6. What is the level of your education received?

7. What languages do you speak?

Immigrants’ Perception on the Moorhead Public Library 19

8. What languages do you prefer to read/watch/listen to things in?

9. What is your perception of public library’s in general?

10. Who normally uses the library?

11. Why did you first visit the library?

12. How did you feel during your first visit to the library?

13. How did you learn about the library?

14. What do you think of the Moorhead Public Library staff?

15. What do you think of the multilingual collection?

16. Are there any things you would like to add or remove from the current multilingual

collection?

17. If you check out items, how did you decide to check out the items?

18. What library services are you aware of?

19. Is there a service you wish the library had?

20. Have you attended any library programs? If yes, which ones and why or if no, why not?

21. Would there be a program that you would like the library to have?

22. How would you like to hear about the library programs?

23. What do you like most about the library?

24. What do you dislike about the library?

25. What would you like to change about the library?

26. What was your overall impression of the Moorhead Public Library?

27. What do you feel the library’s role is in your life?