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Latinos and Public Library Perceptions

Edward Flores, PhD Candidate

USC/TRPI Fellow

Harry Pachon, PhD

President/CEO Tomas Rivera Policy Institute


Introduction• Two Schools of Thought

– Libraries as Integration into US society– Libraries Lack Spanish Language Access


Two Schools of Thought

Library as Integration into US society• 1920s Americanization• 1960s War on Poverty


Two Schools of Thought

Libraries Lack Spanish Language Access• Cataloguing, subject headings• Material, resources, staff• Budgets


Latino Diaspora: 19709 States Where Latinos Outnumbered Blacks and Asians: 1970 Census


Latino Diaspora: 1990

13 States Where Latinos Outnumbered Blacks and Asians: 1990 Census


Latino Diaspora: 2000

23 States Where Latinos Outnumbered Blacks and Asians: 2000 Census



Data and Methods• Data Collection• Weighting


Data Collection• Telephone Surveys, March - May 2008• 2,860 Adult Respondents• 6 States (California, Florida, Texas, New York,

North Carolina, Nevada)• 70% of US-Latino Population in 6 states


Weighting• Sex, Age, Income, Nativity, State• 4 Traditional Immigration States (97%)• 2 New Destination States (3%)


Findings

Percent Visited Library• Gen. Pop. 63%• Latino 49%• Our Latino sample unweighted 49%• Weighted 53%


Findings (cont’d)

Satisfaction• Gen. Pop. 70%• Our sample 70-80%• More Satisfaction with English than Spanish

Materials


Satisfaction• English books (93.3%)• CDs (87.2%)• movies (85.8%)• newspapers/brochures/

magazines (89.8%)• children’s books (91.9%) • children’s movies (86.9%)

• Spanish books (74.0%)• CDs (65.5%)• movies (63.5%)• newspapers/brochures/

magazines (78.2%)• children’s books (76.5%)• children’s movies (66.9%)


Demographics

Sex• Visited in the Past Year

– Female- 60%– Male- 48%

Education• Never Been to Library

– < High School- 46.8%


Demographics

Immigrant Generation• Percent Never Visited Library

– First Gen- 30.2%– Second Gen- 14.1%– Third Gen- 12.8%


Demographics• "Traditional Immigration"

states • Once or twice a year-

13.5% • Every other month- 9.9% • Monthly- 16.7% • Weekly- 11.6% • Daily- 1.0%

• "New Destination"

states• Once or twice a year-

12.1% • Every other month- 9.4% • Monthly- 17.4% • Weekly- 10.2% • Daily- 1.9%


Demographics• New Destination states

– Never went- 30.0%– Visited but not in past year- 19.1%

• Traditional Immigration states– Never went- 22.1%– Visited but not in past year- 25.3%


Baseline Regression

Significant Factors• Sex (b=.48, p<.001)• Age ("55 and over" b=-.22, p<.10)• Income ("$65k and over" b=-.27, p<.01)• Education (b=.14, p<.001)• English Fluency (b=.23, p<.001)


Baseline Regression (cont’d)

Insignificant Factors• Type of State• Generation• Citizenship• Years in the United States

Spanish-speaking dominant• Spanish-reading dominant


Perceptions of the library

Strong relationships with library visits• Staff is not helpful (b=-.25, p<.001)• Staff treats everybody fairly and equally (b=.21,

p<.001)

Weak relationships with library visits• Staff could not speak Spanish (b=-.09, p<.10)• They do not have enough resources in Spanish

(n.s.)


Reasons for Attending• Borrowing movies (b=.46, p<.001)• Borrowing music (b=.41, p<.001)• Learning English (b=.30, p<.001)• Relaxing/ quiet time (b=.30, p<.001)• Reading or borrowing books (b=.28, p<.001)• Using a computer (b=.26, p<.001)• Taking children (b=.22, p<.01)


Suggestions• Information on jobs (b=-.29, p<.001)• Longer hours (b=-.24, p<.001)

English materials more strongly related with library visits than Spanish materials

• Materials for children in English (b=-.21, p<.01)• Materials for children in Spanish (b=-.11, p<.01)• Books/CDs/DVDs/VHS in English (b=-.11, p<.01)• Books/CDs/DVDs/VHS in Spanish (n.s.)• Bilingual staff is not at all correlated with library visits

(n.s.)


Conclusion

Demographics• Demographics matter as with general population• Latino attendance affected by generation as well• Generation not relevant after controlling for

demographic differences• Measures of 'acculturation' not relevant after

controls, either• English language fluency is strong predictor


Conclusion (cont’d)

Survey questions• Staff treatment influences library visits more than

bilingual staff or materials• Learning English also influences library visits• English Materials, especially children's

materials, more significant• However, most Spanish materials still significant


Conclusion (cont’d)

American library as a pillar of civic integration• Latino perceptions generally positive• Staff treatment important• English language learning influential in visits • However, Spanish language materials still

needed


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For phone access, click on phone icon below to get your unique PIN, and dial 1-866-915-8780 Latinos and Public Library Perceptions Edward Flores, PhD Candidate