1. Settlement and Public Libraries:
Titulo de
Initiatives and Potential
laHeller
Laura
presentacion
OCASI Professional Development Conference
Wednesday April 22, 2009 7:30-8:30 pm

2. Session Objectives
 Share information about a new settlement sector
program
 Review and consult with the settlement sector on
its potential
 Provide a rationale to share information with
colleagues about LSP and facilitate client referrals

3. Overview of Presentation
 Overview of the context and the role of libraries
 Newcomer information needs and information
seeking practices
 Partnership opportunities
 Overview of LSP (history and current developments)

4. Overview: Introduction
 Review Canadian experience and LSP in particular in
light of overall response of the public library sector to
address the changing constituencies of users
 International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA)
also taking leadership in developing resources,
strategies and professional development opportunities

5. Strategic Context
 Numbers of migrants have increased internationally
 Need for new settlement service delivery models – better
coordination among providers
 Prevalence of “social inclusion” in government policy in
Canada & UK = removing barriers to full participation in all
aspects of society
“The challenges posed by these [conditions] means there is
an urgent need for local [governments] and other
organisations to think, plan and deliver more
collaboratively, and to share good practice more
effectively – and they need support to do so.”

6. Role of Public Libraries
Where do public libraries fit in?
 Vital and well established community asset
 Bring people together in context of community interaction
and often development
 Provide access to reading, learning, information and
citizenship
 Support formal and informal skills development
 Gateways to knowledge and their resources provide for
individual and shared discovery and empowerment.
 Role as connectors, bringing resources, and people together

7. Innovation in Public Library
Developments
Working Together initiative (2005-2008):
www.librariesincommunities.ca
 Community Development Librarians
 Relationship building and partnerships with community
organizations
 Identifying and investigating barriers to library use

8. Research on Immigrants’
Information Practices
What are the information needs, pathways/sources, and
barriers to information experienced by immigrants
throughout the settlement process?
Report authors:
Professor Nadia Caidi, Doctoral students: Danielle Allard and Diane
Dechief, University of Toronto, Faculty of Information

9. Immigrant Information Needs
Recent Immigrant Needs Longer Established
 Translation services  Health
 Pre-migration  Employment
information  Schools for children
 Employment e.g.  Political/current
job search skills events
 Housing  ESL
 Making connections courses/materials
in the community  Transport/maps
(e.g. professional  Identity construction
associations, (e.g. how to position
volunteering) themselves vis-à-vis
 Orientation to Canadian society)
‘Canadian life’  Information about
culture/religious
events

10. Information Pathways/ Sources
of Newcomers:
 Family and friends, local and transnational
 Media sources such as newspapers and the
Internet
 Organizations such as community centres and
settlement agencies
 Government

11. Barriers to Accessing
Information for Newcomers:
 Language (e.g. fear of speaking English)
 Suspicion or mistrust of authority
 Isolation and feeling like an outsider
 Using children to find information
 Lack of familiarity with Canadian information institutions/
sources
 Cultural differences
 Not knowing how to ask for services

12. 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.
 Everyday Life Information seeking (ELIS)
(Savolainen 1995)
 Habitual, non-rational, multiple goals
 Newcomers need to establish new patterns and
information sources in a ‘culturally alien information
environment’ (Mehra & Pappajohn 2007)

13. Information Poverty
Information poverty = Lacking necessary resources
such as adequate social networks and information finding
skills that enable everyday information seeking.
Are new immigrants information poor?
 Need basic information for survival
 Limited local social networks
 Little knowledge of the Canadian information
environment
 But…typically new immigrants have high levels of
education and often have non-local or transnational
social networks

14. Benefits of Partnering with
Libraries
Offer programs that target newcomers
Community Information & Referral Services
Adult Education & Literacy
Multilingual Collections
Other Resources

15. Library Programming for
Newcomers
 1x1 tutoring – ESL, literacy, citizenship help
 ESL classes
 Computer classes – ESL and other languages
 ESL story time for pre-schoolers and parents
 orientation sessions on healthcare, job search, how to
obtain a driver’s license

16. Library Collections for
Newcomers
 Multilingual collections in first language (books and
audiovisuals)
 English books that are easy-to-read
 Newspapers and magazines – foreign and local
 Dual language materials especially for young people
 Tools such as bilingual dictionaries

17. Library Services for
Newcomers
 Community Information & Referral Services
 Data bases
 Internet service and some training on how
to use it
 Research services and assistance to
support adult education, community
programs, employment efforts (self
employment etc)

18. Adult Education & Literacy in
Libraries
 Libraries have a long history of partnering with literacy
agencies
 Offer 1x1 tutoring integrating citizenship information &
support; New immigrant centers
 Story time programs develop pre-literacy skills in pre-school
children and also offer adults opportunity to practice English

19. Libraries Inclusion of
Newcomers
How can libraries ensure that their traditional
programming is truly inclusive?
 Opportunities for communities and libraries to extend
the reach and participation in such library-driven
activities such as book reading clubs, local history, etc.
 Newcomer involvement in such areas as participating in
collection development
 Strategic planning and other decision making
processes to include newcomers

20. Summary
There are numerous well-documented examples of public
libraries as providers of services for culturally diverse
communities.
Services for approach usually includes:
 Collections in different languages
 Internet access enabling library users to keep in touch with
what is happening in other countries.
 Programs targeted at specific underserved groups in such a
way that they are seen as a separate “add-on” rather than
part of core services
 Programs often have been over-dependent on the
commitment of specific individual members of library staff
The approach adopted has tended to be service-led, rather
than transformational.

21. From dream to reality - LSP
 Given the potential for settlement sector / public library
partnerships to improve settlement and long term
quality of life of immigrants, what is LSP and how is it
contributing?

22. Some background information
LSP grew out of the Settlement Workers in Schools initiative.
 The Settlement Workers in Schools (SWIS) Program is a very unique
partnership model first piloted in 1999 that involves the participation of
settlement agencies, school boards and CIC.
 The program reaches out to newcomer families by placing settlement
workers in elementary and secondary schools. By placing settlement
services where all school-aged children must go, we are able to reach
a greater number of newcomers than through traditional points of
service.
 During the summer months when school is out, settlement workers
needed to find other places in the community where they could deliver
services. The library became a popular spot for SWIS workers.
 Libraries saw the benefit of having settlement workers in the library
year-round, not just during the summer and thus, LSP was born.

23. Rationale for LSP
Like SWIS, LSP brings
settlement workers to
where clients are.

24. LSP in CIC
 LSP derives its funds from ISAP A funds.
 ISAP A includes the following services:
 Initial needs assessment
 Information and orientation
 Interpretation and translation
 Referral to appropriate community resources
 Solution-focused counselling
 Employment-related services
 ISAP A is delivered by over 160 service providing organizations (SPOs) across
Ontario – both ethno-specific and multi-ethnic organizations
 60% of SPOs are located in Toronto
 Over 200,000 clients were served in 2007
 Other initiatives that receive funding through ISAP A include:
 SWIS, ELT, JSW, etc.

25. LSP Enhances the Settlement Sector’s
Service Delivery Options and Reach
Traditionally CIC funded services are available to
 Permanent Residents
 Protected Persons
 Persons whose applications for Permanent Resident status have been
approved in principle
 Live-in caregivers (ISAP services only)
 Canadian citizens and refugee claimants are not eligible clients.
However, LSP expands eligibility
 Co-funding allows for access by non eligible CIC clients. LSP is
considered to be a co-funded project because of the non monetary in-
kind contributions the library provides.
 Provides another and very public venue to promote and deliver
settlement services

26. LSP History
LSP was first piloted last year in three library systems:
 Toronto Public Library (7 branches)
 Hamilton Public Library (3 branches + the
bookmobile)
 Ottawa Public Library (7 branches)

27. History of LSP
Based on the initial success of the pilot, LSP is now in
expansion mode in Toronto (to 19 branches) and is just getting
off the ground in:
 Windsor (3 branches)
 London (4 branches)
 Kitchener (2 branches)
 Waterloo (2 branches)
 Brampton (2 branches)
 Vaughan (1 branch)
 Richmond Hill (1 branch)
 Markham (2 branches)

28. Languages and Communities
of LSP Service

29. Pilot Communities
Central
Redhill
Hamilton SISO
Terryberry
Bookmobile
Ottawa Community Immigrant
Ottawa Main
Services Organization
Lebanese & Arabic Social
Ottawa North Gloucester
Services Agency
Ottawa Somali Family Association Alta Vista
Lebanese & Arabic Social
Ottawa Centennial
Services Agency
Lebanese & Arabic Social
Ottawa Greenboro
Services Agency
Conseil Economique et Social
Ottawa St Laurent
d'Ottawa Carleton
Conseil Economique et Social
Ottawa Orleans
d'Ottawa Carleton
Ottawa Chinese Communty
Ottawa Main and Nepean Centrepointe
Service Centre
Lebanese & Arabic Social
Ottawa Elmvale
Services Agency

30. City Name of SPO Library Branch
Toronto Catholic Cross Cultural Services Agincourt
Flemingdon Park
Toronto Thorncliffe Neighbourhood Office
Thorncliffe Park
Toronto YMCA Newcomer Services Toronto Reference
Toronto Kababayan Parkdale
Toronto North York Community House York Woods
Toronto Rexdale Women's Centre Albion
Albert Campbell
Centre for Communication &
Toronto Bridlewood
Information Services
Morningside
Eatonville
Toronto CultureLink
Mimico
Toronto Rexdale Women's Centre Richview
Gerrard/Ashdale
Toronto Thorncliffe Neighbourhood Office Parliament
Riverdale
Working Women Community
Toronto Bloor/Gladstone
Centre
Toronto YMCA Newcomer Services Centennial
Toronto Culture Link Lillian H. Smith

31. New Communities
Chinguacousy
Brampton Brampton Multicultural Centre
South Fletcher's
Forest Heights (K)
Kitchener- Main (K)
K-W Multicultural Centre
Waterloo McCormick (W)
Main (W)
London Centre for Life Long Learning & LUSO Beacock
London South London Neighbourhood Centre Jalna
London London Cross Cultural Learner Centre Central
London London Cross Cultural Learner Centre Sherwood
Central
Windsor New Canadians' Centre for Excellence Forest Glade
Sandwich
Central (Richmond Hill)
Thornhill Community Centre
York Region Catholic Community Services of York Region
(Markham)
Maple (Vaughan)
York Region Centre for Communication & Information Services Milliken Mills (Markham)

32. Summary
 Total of 49 branches served by 22 agencies
 11 communities participating (3 pilot and 8 new)
each represented by one public library system (11
systems)
 Pilot phase consisted of 12 agencies serving 20
branches
 Expansion represents a doubling of total numbers
and tripling of the number of communities involved

33. What Does LSP Do?
 One-on-one service
 Group programs (information sessions and also
places to facilitate community interaction –
conversation circles, etc)
 Outreach (to promote the program and increased
understanding of public libraries and what they offer)
 Supports information sharing and progress of two
sectors both committed to information service,
education, and community development

34. Structure of LSP
(like SWIS, a partnership model of service delivery)

35. Conclusion
 Next steps for LSP include further developing the
program in the current 11 communities
 Looking for new programming opportunities (new
activities, new branches and new communities)
 Capacity building through training, sharing best
practices, etc.
 Evaluating the program

36. Implications for Settlement
Workers
Discussion Points:
 Connecting with LSP if your community or agency is involved
in the program
 Connecting with libraries if your agency is not involved in LSP
 Referrals for information or other library services
 Group programs
 Outreach
 Libraries as partners / advocates for the settlement sector

37. What you can do
 Keep informed www.lsp-peb.ca
 Share information about LSP with staff and
settlement sector colleagues
 Think about partnering with your local public
library in new ways

38. Thanks and keep in touch!
coordinator@ciclsp.ca