Korean Immigrant Parents Are Validated in Their Perceptions of Deficits in Library Resources Supporting Korean Immigrants in Three Southeastern Suburban Counties

A Review of: Kim, Y., Kim, H. C. L., & Kim, J. (2023). Korean immigrants’ perceptions of library services and library multicultural programs for Asian communities before and during COVID-19. Frontiers in Education, 8, Article 1081143. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2023.1081143 Objective – To explore Korean immigrant parents’ use and perceptions of public libraries and to analyze the resources and programs offered by public libraries that specifically support multiculturalism and the needs of immigrants. Design – Descriptive case study using a questionnaire for parents and additional analysis of library resources and programs. Setting – Three public library systems within three counties in a metropolitan area of a southeastern U.S. state. Subjects – 141 Korean immigrant parents, as well as library resources and 318 programs offered across the three public library systems. Methods – Respondents were recruited among parents of children enrolled in nonprofit summer camps at three local Korean American churches. The questionnaire included two open-ended questions and six closed questions and was completed prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was analyzed with quantitative methods including Chi-square test and correlation and Spearman’s rank order correlation. SPSS was used to conduct an inferential analysis of the responses. The analyzed library resources and programs were divided into two different time periods; phase 1 or the “before COVID-19” phase consisted of data collection from January to April 2018, and phase 2 or the “during COVID-19” phase consisted of data collection from January to April 2021. The number of books and digital media in Korean, as well as the number of multicultural programs offered, were counted, and qualitative methods were used to classify the programs into categories for analysis. Main Results – Key results of the questionnaire include that 79% of the respondents resided in one of the three counties within the public library systems being analyzed, and 79% spent time at the library at least once per year. Reasons for visiting the library included children’s books (97%), study spaces (18%), books for parents’ needs (12%), and library programs (8%). Most respondents (82%) did not think or did not know if libraries offered programs for immigrants. Of parents who were aware of programs for immigrants, only 7% (n=1) were aware of being able to borrow books in Korean, and 53% (n=8) were aware of programs such as ESL classes. Correlation analysis showed that the more time a respondent spent at a library, the more they believed that the libraries offered programs for immigrants. Some respondents (43%, n=61) provided reasons for library dissatisfaction, which included language barriers (38%), lack of Korean resources (38%), lack of cultural events (25%), lack of knowledge about how to use the library (10%), and staff unkindness (7%). Respondents who listed future needs (23%, n=33) asked for academic support programs for their children (33%) and more services for adults (61%), including ESL classes (30%), cultural events (12%), adult classes (9%), and books in Korean (6%). The analysis of library resources across library systems A, B, and C respectively showed 371 (0.27% of total collection), 636 (0.27%), and 1 (0.04%) books in Korean, and 16, 89, and 0 electronic resources in Korean, with less than 4% of the total resources in Korean being published since 2009. The analysis of multicultural programs at library systems B and C was divided into analysis of programs for children and adults and included the number and frequency of programs within multiple categories. Multicultural programs were more likely to be offered to adults than to children, and the total adult multicultural programs increased during COVID-19 compared to before COVID-19. However, the percentage of specifically Asian American programming decreased during COVID-19 in System B (from 6.3% to zero) and increased in System C (from zero to 3%). Conclusion – Amongst the respondents, libraries were especially valued for access to books for their children. The respondents' perceptions of the lack of availability of multicultural programming, as well as resources specifically for the Korean community, was reflected in the analysis of programs offered, which showed that there were few programs offered specifically in support or celebration of Asian or Asian American communities. The analysis of books and electronic resources documents a lack of Korean-language resources, especially recently published resources. The number of resources at the libraries does not adequately reflect the percentage of Korean Americans in the larger community.

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