In Middlesbrough Asylum Seekers make use of all our services, but they have
little or no ID. They usually have only a letter from the Home Office. We
have devised a provisional membership category allowing the loan of 2
books pending the availabliity of name & address ID.
This has since been adopted for general use with all people who lack ID,
even if they have only forgotten to bring it with them. This is so as not
to turn people away, but it is an example of how refugees have helped
develop our service.
We have increased our spending on language courses and books in a variety
of languages. They are usually very keen on internet use but are also
readers. They are usually young men, rather than women or children.
We had experience in the late 70s with Vietnamese refugees who often came
in families, buying books in dual and single languages. These families were
soon absorbed into the community at large; we no longer provide books in
Vietnamese; we do provide books and newspapers in Chinese, Arabic and all
Indic languages. These are not the usually the languages of current
refugees/immigrants.
Our major problem is that we do not speak their languages.
Alan Sandham, Delivered Services Librarian
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