Book Review

Review of Borders & Belongings: Critical Examinations of Library Approaches Toward Immigrants edited by Ana Ndumu. Critical Race Studies and Multiculturalism in LIS, no. 4. Rose L. Chou and Annie Pho, editors. Library Juice Press, 2021. ISBN 978-1-63400-082-6 http://libraryjuicepress.com/

This anthology consists of fifteen essays in three sections: Uncovering Problematic Paradigms, Immigrant Librarians Speak Out, and Taking Action. The foreword by Clara M. Chu, Director of the Mortenson Center for International Library Programs and Mortenson Distinguished Professor, provides a brief necessary introduction to the issues addressed in greater depth in the essays which follow.

The essays in the first section are designed to uncover problematic paradigms in library history. Ndumu and Ramnine focus on John Foster Carr, but need a far more thorough grounding in the American history of the 19th and early 20th centuries, as well as the library literature on that period. Adler compares the response of public libraries in New York City during the Progressive Era and the War on Poverty of the 1960s. The contribution is historically grounded and theoretically and critically strong. Choi utilizes postcolonial theory to examine the history of academic and special collections in regard to immigrants, and extends that analysis to digital humanities. Finally, Chan and Cardendas present an ethnographic case study of library workflows and colonial frameworks.

The contributions in section two include two that are self-referential and autoethnographic. They provide a personal perspective on issues raised in the first section. Clunie, Hem, and Adzei-Stonnes speak on their journey as librarians from their position as three Black immigrant feminist writers and librarians. Kazmierczak-Hoffman provides insight into her experience of the library as a personal refuge and librarianship as a professional calling. The remaining two articles in the section are the reports of empirical studies. After presenting a strong historical background and context of the English-Only philosophy in American librarianship, Solis and Espinoza present the results of their pilot survey of the linguistic demographics and language skills of Spectrum scholars and call for a replication with a more representative sample of librarians. In the fourth essay, Green and Clement present the results of an exploratory study of the current library services to LGBTQ+ immigrants in the U.S. and Canada. As with the previous study, there is a call for a more extensive exploration. Their review of the literature is especially useful.

The authors in the final section provide suggestions for methods of taking action. Taylor critically analyzes information literacy instruction through the lens of Marxist philosophy, while Baton and Gross provide a somewhat journalistic history of recent efforts to change the Library on Congress Subject Heading “illegal aliens.” Ramirez reports on efforts to partner with Hispanic residents of central Virginia and provides a series of questions that librarians can utilize in similar efforts to reach immigrants in their communities. Similarly, Rodriguez, Naficy, and Russo report on a library-based program aimed at immigrant teens that partnered with public schools. In the final essay in the section and the book, Chin, Lopez, and Gomez recommend that librarians and library staff be trained in the methods of “serious play” in order to become effective facilitators of communication among the various groups in their communities.

This work fills a definite need within education for library and information science. It would be useful in courses on services to diverse populations, multiculturalism and library services, and the history of public librarianship. It presents a unique and diverse perspective on the library approaches to immigrants historically and contemporaneously.

Suzanne Stauffer

Louisiana State University and A&M College