Hayley Park

Introduction. The study explores the relationship between information and acculturation in the lives of immigrants living in the United States, with consideration given to immigrants’ information assets as well as bidirectional dimensions of acculturation whereby immigrants inform US-born neighbours. Method. Initially intended as a mixed-method explanatory study, this preliminary insight is based on survey data. As the researchers discuss, recruitment was disrupted due to factors including sweeping US legislation that culminated in federal research defunding, punitive measures toward higher education, and especially threats to immigrant communities. Analysis. The preliminary survey findings offer a glimpse into how immigrants adjust informationally. Respondents prefer speed and accuracy of resources and ranked educational/career, health/wellness, and entertainment as top information reasons, while friends and family are the premier information sources. Many respondents share cultural information with US-born neighbors. Yet barriers such as the lack of recent, accurate, or accessible information impact acculturation. Results. Based on available data, immigrant information acculturation is hardly straightforward and reflects a myriad of decisions related to information seeking, finding, using, sources, problem-solving, and contributions. Conclusion. Information decision-makers who partner with immigrant groups should account for how community members navigate US acculturation, information ecosystems, and their own self-perceptions. Knowledge of immigrant information acculturation can further both the study and provision of information, particularly in rapidly changing information and political landscapes.

Objective – Immigrants’ adjustment to U.S. society, also known as immigrant acculturation, is a vast area of study, but there are few studies relating to immigrant acculturation within the library and information science field. Methods – Data from 131 survey responses and 20 interviews suggest that library workers are somewhat familiar with the immigrant acculturation process, but specific and evidence based training can further their knowledge. Results – Insight on immigrant acculturation contextualizes immigrants’ realities and thus assists library workers in being aware of and responsive to the nuances of adjusting to and thriving in a new country like the U.S. Conclusion – In the face of anti-immigration legislation and heightened xenophobic misinformation, librarians need professional development drawn from empirical investigations of immigrants’ acculturative experiences.

Access to information is a fundamental human right and a defining characteristic of democracy. However, access to legal information, despite its importance in creating an informed citizenry and increasing individuals’ understanding of their rights, is understudied in current information behavior literature. Legal issues affect many U.S. residents, significantly, however, often unequally. In 2019, at least one in three U.S. households faced legal issues (Pew Charitable Trusts, 2019). Among those, members of low-income communities faced a disproportionately greater number of legal issues, while rarely seeking and receiving legal assistance (Legal Services Corporation, 2022). Furthermore, the current anti-immigrant political climate threatening the human rights of immigrant members of our society calls for serious scholarship into this topic. With the current gap in the literature, this mixed-methods study focuses on the legal information needs and information-seeking behaviors of mixed-status immigrant families residing in the United States. Mixed-status immigrant families, despite facing various intersectional needs, remain largely underrepresented. Therefore, this study aims to 1) seek ways to deepen the scholarly understanding of specific legal information needs and information-seeking behaviors of the historically understudied populations in research, and 2) suggest community-driven recommendations to expand access to relevant legal information and services.

Platforms like Nextdoor and Citizen can increase users’ fear of crime by broadcasting frequent, local, and personalized information about potential safety risks. These platforms can contribute to a dysfunctional fear of crime, which undermines a person’s quality of life and mental health without actually making them feel safer. In this work, we conducted a mixed-methods study to understand the potential for design to foster a functional fear of crime, which motivates precaution without negatively impacting quality of life. We first interview individuals with a dysfunctional fear of crime and then validate interview results with a survey. Through this process, we identified five strategies for designers to support users in developing a more functional fear of crime. These strategies surface overarching theoretical and design implications for designers and researchers of safety platform with the ultimate goal of supporting safety, quality of life, and mental health for users of these platforms.