Use of Public Libraries by Immigrants

Abstract

The United States has experienced increased immigration rates since 1990 and public libraries are faced with providing services to immigrants from a wide variety of cultural backgrounds. Which immigrants are the most likely to utilize public library services? This study uses data from the U.S. Current Population Survey from 2002 to compare households of immigrants from various world regions on the use of public libraries in the past month and the past year. Immigrant households’ rates of library use are also compared to households of native-born U.S. citizens.