The library focuses on newcomers

PS. This article is reproduced with kind permission of Pradip Rodrigues @ canindia.com

The library focuses on newcomers

Last week I served as a panelist on a session titled “Newcomers and public libraries” at the Ontario Library Association (OLA) Super Conference held at the Metro Convention Centre in Toronto. The OLA is Canada’s largest library organization and the Super Conference is the largest continuing education event in librarianship in North America. The room was filled to capacity with librarians from across the province who were grappling with a variety of issues dealing with newcomers.At the onset, moderator Stephen Abram made it quite clear that the library did a poor job marketing itself, he recognized the fact that librarians were the least diverse group of employees and ageing. It was evident that the OLA had to go after newcomers and we the panelist were there to have a conversation about the needs and special needs of newcomers.

Some suggestions I offered:
Most immigrants stumble into libraries quite by accident. It would be a great idea to actually have a public library in every airport of this country as it would go a long way to promote reading and would be the first great institution a newcomer to Canada would discover and develop a life-long relationship with it. Newcomers could get their… library cards and check out books about Canada along with their luggage if they so wanted or at least they could be told about the location of their new neighborhood library. I have personally seen newcomers in the library looking quite lost while librarians went about their business assuming they would approach them if they had any question. I suggested what the moderator termed ‘the retail approach’, where library staff come around and ensure the visitor is finding everything okay. I was peppered with questions- would newcomers be offended if asked if they were new to Canada? I explained that some newcomers who are trying to forget that fact may feel mildly offended, but suggested that perhaps library staff could ask if they were new to the library system.

All newcomers to Canada aren’t necessarily Asian, South Asian or black. I once met a White South African couple and their children who had immigrated a year earlier, passed this library many times but never entered assuming it was like the kind they had back in the old country which was nothing to write home about. They were amazed to know that the library system carried every major literary work, books and periodicals on current affairs, thousands of DVDs, CDs, books on tape, children’s books… Then they asked, “How much are the user fees?” When I told them it was all free, they couldn’t believe their ears and signed up for library cards immediately. Most newcomers are aware of the library, but do not realize its potential.

As a newcomer to Canada 14 years ago, the library was at the top of the great things I listed about this country. I devoured books on Canadian history, geography and politics, read guide books, watched DVDs and listened to great music on CDs. I developed a love and understanding of this country through library books and I am convinced a library can be one of the greatest tools to integrate newcomers into Canada.

Observation at my branch library
This weekend I was at my branch library in Mississauga where I saw a sign “Newcomer Information”. A young South Asian newcomer was being given literature and information about services he could access like the conversational English classes his wife could attend, places he could go to get his credentials recognized and resumes made. The man then left the library without even glancing at a book. I thought to myself, here is a man who has come into the library for information on settling in, but no effort was made to actually give him a tour of the library. I am quite sure he or his wife don’t have library cards. The man indicated that fluency in verbal and written English was their handicap, but not once through the conversation did the counselor suggest he explore the vast riches of the library. To me this was like a hungry man asking for directions to the food bank when he was in one already.

What can be done
If libraries in immigrant-rich GTA are figuring out ways to engage newcomers, libraries in parts of the province that are only now beginning to see more and more visible minorities are struggling. Librarians from Barrie and communities beyond are having to stock up on relevant material for newcomers, order books and periodicals in other languages and help them as best they can. Perhaps librarians across this country can start by engaging in some conversations with some of their users who happen to be newcomers and make them feel welcome.
By Pradip Rodrigues

Debunking The 'Myth Of The Muslim Tide' : NPR

Extract:

"In Canada, a major analysis of national statistics found that skin colour, not religion, affected the ability to integrate, and that Muslims are no less (and sometimes slightly more) able to integrate economically and socially other than people of the same race." p(. 75)

The Myth of the Muslim Tide: Do Immigrants Threaten the West? by Doug Saunders

Book Description
From the author of prize-winning Arrival City, a controversial and long-overdue rejoinder to the excessive fears of an Islamic threat that have spread throughout America and Europe and threaten our basic values.
Since September 11, 2001, a growing chorus has warned that Western society and values are at risk of being overrun by a tide of Islamic immigrants. These sentiments reached their most extreme expression in July 2011, with Anders Breivik’s shooting spree in Norway. Breivik left behind a 1500 page manifesto denouncing the impact of Islam on the West, which showed how his thinking had been shaped by anti-immigrant writings that had appeared widely in books and respectable publications. In The Myth of the Muslim Tide, Doug Saunders offers a brave challenge to these ideas, debunking popular misconceptions about Muslims and their effect on the communities in which they live. He demonstrates how modern Islamophobia echoes historical responses to earlier immigrant groups, especially Jews and Catholics. Above all, he provides a set of concrete proposals to help absorb these newcomers and make immigration work. The most important trend of the twenty-first century will be a massive global migration to cities and across international borders. Rather than responding to our new religious-minority neighbours with fear and resentment, this book shows us how we can make this change work to our advantage.

What others say:
Listen to: The myth of the Muslim tide | Q with Jian Ghomeshi | CBC Radio
The Myth of the Muslim Tide : NPR
The Myth of the Muslim Tide by Doug Saunders rebuts right-wing fear mongers, by Charlie Smith -- "The Myth of the Muslim Tide may calm fears about women in hijabs and niqabs."
“Saunders’ approach is refreshingly levelheaded and fact-based… An invaluable contribution to the contemporary debate over Muslim immigration into Western communities.” – Kirkus Reviews
“Cogent and timely.” - Publishers Weekly

About Doug Saunders

Doug Saunders is a Canadian-British author and journalist. He is the author of the book Arrival City: The Final Migration and Our Next World (2011) and the London-based European bureau chief for The Globe and Mail. He writes a weekly column devoted to the larger themes and intellectual concepts behind international news, and has won the National Newspaper Award, Canada’s counterpart to the Pulitzer Prize, on four occasions.

Table of Contents
1 Popular Fiction
The New Neighbours 2
Crescent Fever: The Brief History of an Idea 9
The Parties of Eurabia 24
A Very American Invasion 29

2 The Facts
Population 38
Integration 61
Extremism 82

3 We've Been Here Before
The Catholic Tide 115
The Jewish Tide 127

4 What We Oughy to Worry About
The Invention of the Muslim People 139
The Problem of Integration 144
The Privatization of Religion 150
Escaping the Prison House of Culture 158

Library of Congress Subject headings:

Muslims --Western countries.
Islamophobia --Western countries.
POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Ideologies / General
SOCIAL SCIENCE / Emigration & Immigration

On the same shelf:

• On TV, an Everyday Muslim as Everyday American February 8, 2013, The New York Times --Extract: "On a Sunday afternoon several months ago, I was engaged in one of my favorite religious rituals, watching pro football on television. During a break in the game, I reflexively clicked the “mute” button on the remote control. But my eyes stayed fixed on a startling commercial.
  The screen showed a balding man with tawny skin and a salt-and-pepper goatee, and seconds later it spelled out his name: Mujahid Abdul-Rashid. The advertisement went on to show him fishing, playing in a yard with two toddlers, and sitting down to a family meal. One week later, again during an N.F.L. game, the same commercial appeared. This time I listened to the words. The advertisement was for Prudential’s financial products for retirees. Mr. Abdul-Rashid was talking about his own retirement after 19 years as a clothing salesman, and the family time he now intended to enjoy."

     

Who says Canada's streets are no longer paved with gold

Documented proof here: 'PAVED WITH GOLD — Cashing in on the infrastructure boom' @ Maclean's 99 stupid things the government spent your money on

Extract: "Not everyone will agree with all these items being on the list. Some will justify handouts to companies and sports teams as necessary to “promote economic activity,” or they’ll say a camping program for new immigrants was a nice thing to do." continue reading: Maclean's

A note about the Gold paved streets is relevant here:
Those who visit Staten Island, get to read what an Italian had to say about immigrants' and their expectations:

"I came to America because I heard the streets were paved with gold. When I got here, found out three things:
First, the streets weren't paved with gold;
second, they weren't paved at all:
and third, I was expected to pave them." source
See also: Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore, Source: The Huddled Masses Myth: Immigration And Civil Rights, Kevin Johnson
As far as Canadian immigrant is concerned, the story and the statement is much the same. Any professional who comes to Canada is told that he / she needs 'local experience,' (aka, you have to pave them with gold)... More here: In Search of Gold Paved Streets: Greek Immigrant Labor in the Far West, 1900-1920 (Immigrant Communities and Ethnic Minorities in the United States and Canada) by Louis James Cononelos

On the same shelf:

Canada's streets no longer paved with gold - The Globe and Mail

Where The Streets Are Paved With Gold, Mental Floss -- Having great vocabulary didn't save the Thesaurus from extinction

Mythbusters #2 They think the streets are paved with gold! The Great British Community

Thought for the day: Adapt to what the market demands

Extract:Why You Shouldn't "Do What Makes You Happy" in Business, by Dr. Gerry Som, 01/07/2013, "The Huffington Post"
--With permission from the author:

You must have read many articles that offer you this following advice:
•Do what makes you happy.
•Follow your heart.
•Chase your dreams.
•Fulfil your passions.
•Find a job that you like, and you will not have to work a day in your life.


No Sir / Ma'am, I respectfully disagree. My thoughts are as follows:
•Do what will make you money in a legal manner to pay your bills, and take care of your financial needs, and those of your loved ones.
•Adapt to what the market demands.
•Find the unfulfilled needs or gaps in the markets, and fulfil them.

This will serve both you and the society well. Pursue your hobbies during your weekends and free time.

You see, there is an inherent flaw in the sentence "Do what makes you happy." The sentence assumes that (a) You already know what you want (b) It will make you happy (c) You will continue to want it and (d) It will continue to make you happy. There are unknown-unknowns, just like there are known-knowns. What you if you not done your research properly, and have not stumbled upon what is profitable for you, or even, what would make you happy?
Continue reading

Reading now: Guide to Job-Hunting Online...

What Color Is Your Parachute? Guide to Job-Hunting Online, Sixth Edition: Blogging, Career Sites, Gateways, Getting Interviews, Job Boards, Job Search ... Resumes, Research Sites, Social Networking, by Mark Emery Bolles, Ten Speed Press; 6 Original edition (2011); Read an Excerpt
Extract from Amazon:

"Before you start your Internet job-hunt, there are some things that you must know, like:
• Why are job sites like Monster and CareerBuilder so stunningly ineffective?
• What can you do to make sure your resumes survive the elimination process?
• How do you find the information that search engines like Google can’t?
• How can you tell the difference between a genuinely helpful job board, and a website designed only to collect resumes?
• When are hobby forums more helpful than business networking sites?
• When is the Internet not helpful when job-hunting?
• What is the fatal flaw of all social networking sites?

The Guide to Job-Hunting Online, 6th Edition, not only answers these questions and many more, but shows you how to comprehensively and effectively use the Internet for all aspects of your job-hunt.
This companion to What Color Is Your Parachute?, the best-selling job-hunting book in the world, has been completely rewritten for our changing times and includes hundreds of updated website recommendations and descriptions. The Guide to Job-Hunting Online shows you how to quickly find the data that will be most helpful to you, how to identify and research the places where you will most enjoy working, how to leverage the power of social networking sites, and how to use your Internet time most effectively, avoiding the common pitfalls and setting you up for success."

Table of Contents
Introduction; First ; Skills; Resumes; People ; Research ; Job Boards ; Last; Sources; Index of Websites; Index

Canada opens door to skilled trade workers: Citizenship and Immigration Canada

Building an Immigration System that Works for Canada -- New Federal Skilled Trades Stream to Begin Accepting Applications on January 2, 2013

The program criteria are built around four requirements that ensure applicants will have the right skills and experience needed to succeed here in Canada. In order to qualify, applicants will need to:

1.have an offer of employment in Canada or a certificate of qualification from a province or territory to ensure that applicants are “job ready” upon arrival;
2.meet a basic language requirement;
3.have a minimum of two years of work experience as a skilled tradesperson, to ensure that the applicant has recent and relevant practice as a qualified journeyman;
and 4.have the skills and experience that match those set out in the National Occupational Classification (NOC B) system, showing that they have performed the essential duties of the occupation.

Eligible occupations will include electricians, welders, heavy-duty equipment mechanics, and pipefitters, among others. CIC is currently working with the provinces, territories and federal government partners on the list of skilled trades’ occupations that are experiencing acute labour shortages and which will qualify under the program. This list will be announced prior to the program opening on January 2, 2013.

On the same shelf:

The Government of Canada Invests Record Funding for Settlement Services for Newcomers to Alberta

The Government of Canada Invests Record Funding for Settlement Services for Newcomers to Manitoba

The Government of Canada Invests Record Funding for Settlement Services for Newcomers to Saskatchewan

The Government of Canada Invests Record Funding for Settlement Services for Newcomers to Yukon

Attracting the best and brightest skilled workers

CIC Wins Technology Award for the Come to Canada Wizard

Canada welcomes largest number of parents and grandparents in almost twenty years

The Toronto Moment: Becoming Torontonian, Toronto Life

Extract:
Eight portraits of the educated professionals flocking to becoming Torontonian - Toronto Life (Nov 2012), By Carolyn Morris, Continue reading

On the same shelf:

Wilderness explored through Canadian immigrants' eyes in new ...canadianimmigrant.ca

Unfriendly Toronto? Toronto Life article, Philip Preville

Integrating Community Diversity in Toronto: On Whose Terms - CERIS by Myer Siemiatycki, Tim Rees, Roxana Ng & Khan Rahi

Immigrants against immigration? | building bridges

Immigration blogs: future academic sources?

The landed 'refugee': A new immigrant class? | CanIndia NEWS

Remembrance Day Canada: News from abroad

Lest we forget: From World War One to Iraq, huge sacrifice of one ... Daily Mail-10 Nov 2012

Remembrance Day 2012: Poppy Appeal 'Risks Glossing Over The Horrors Of War' Insists Ted Harrison Huffington Post UK-11 Nov 2012

A powerful symbol of war's cost, This is Leicestershire-9 Nov 2012

British news paper salutes Salute to a brave and modest nation - Kevin Myers, 'The Sunday Telegraph' LONDON -- (Reprinted here is a remarkable tribute written by Irishman Kevin Myers about Canada's record of quiet valour in wartime. This article appeared in the April 21, 2002 edition of the Sunday Telegraph, one of Britain's largest circulation newspapers and in Canada's National Post on April 26, 2002. soruce)

see much more @ Google news, from UK pages

Free library services vital for new immigrants - LIANZA

Thursday, 1 November, 2012, Voxy.co.nz
Public libraries are vital for helping immigrants find jobs and settle in New Zealand says the President of the Library and Information Association of New Zealand Aotearoa (LIANZA) Heather Lamond.

... Ms Lamond said whilst many public libraries were able to provide free internet access through the Aotearoa People’s Network Kaharoa (APNK), a number still had to charge for internet use.

"If this bill was passed it would bring us into line with other countries such as the UK, Canada and Australia, who have laws protecting free library services. This is our chance to give all New Zealanders the opportunity to further themselves and participate in our democracy." continue reading On the same shelf:

Newcomers to Canada: If you are a newcomer to Canada, this inspiring session is for you! @ Surrey Libraries