Fain Article

Elaine Fain’s Books for New Citizens: Public Libraries and Americanization Programs 1900-1925 tells the story of reformers such as Pratt and Carnegie who saw the library as a means of “social Improvement” . They supported and encouraged the development of small neighborhood libraries. Libraries such as the Carnegie in Pittsburgh had literally hundreds of distribution points. During the time-frame of 1890-1910, the public library would literally branch out and diversify its services. The formation of reference desks, children’s services and multiple sites revolutionized the way libraries operated, and indeed the way they saw themselves.

No longer limited to one central location, they began to reach out and (attempt to) meet the needs of immigrant and poor communities. New York claimed Settlement Houses, the social home for many new immigrants, as branch sites. However, as Fain notes, the development of such services was hindered by a sometimes limited understanding of how to meet the needs of diverse communities. While some had worked for immigrant organizations, others remained uneducated in the cultures and customs of those that they were trying to serve.

The work of Hull House, founded by Jane Addams, rested partially on the same beliefs that the poor lacked culture and beauty in their world. She and others sought to infuse such attributes in to their space by providing reproductions of art that could be taken home.

Later, as the fears of Communism and of the Japanese radiated throughout America, patrons were concerned that Yiddish works contained calls to revolution (Fain 270). Yet even with these fears permeating the culture. According to Fain, the library remained a place where the new immigrant could find himself, as a person, as an immigrant, and as a new American.