PASADENA, Calif.—The California State Library recently awarded Pasadena Public Library a local Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant of $62,000 to focus on bolstering citizenship and immigration resources at Central Library, and La Pintoresca and Villa Parke Branch Libraries. “Libraries try to provide resources on everything including immigration, which is a very complex issue,” said Melvin Racelis, Senior Librarian at La Pintoresca Branch Library who is leading this project. “Recently, there has been increased interest in this topic. As librarians, it is important that we serve the informational needs of immigrants in our community, as well as anyone else interested in the citizenship process.”
Newly created Citizenship Corners at each of the three library sites will provide visitors access to materials that will help them understand United States citizenship and related processes. These informational resources will be available for checkout. Bilingual educational workshops in English and Spanish will also be available at the three library sites, in partnership with outside organizations, to address a variety of immigrant needs. Additionally, library staff will receive training from the Department of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to help them better assist patrons with questions on the citizenship process.
To further prepare for the naturalization test, the Pasadena Human Services and Recreation Department offers a U.S. Citizenship Class at Villa Parke Community Center for adults ages 50 and up. This class provides participants with a basic overview of U.S. history and government.
Funding for this grant is provided by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, administered in California by the State Librarian. For more information, contact Melvin Racelis at (626) 744-7268 or mracelis@cityofpasadena.net; or Catherine Hany at (626) 744-4207 or chany@cityofpasadena.net.