Internet use and the role of the public library in ethnic communities : a comparative case study in New York City

The internet has grown rapidly with the global development of information communication technologies. But it also creates a digital divide in disadvantaged communities such as those found in ethnic minority neighborhoods. Historically, public libraries provide open and free access to information, and they have long been a critical resource to ethnic communities. More recently, they have become more than a community center, expanding into becoming a technology hub, especially for internet use. Public libraries could play a positive role in enhancing low-income ethnic communities’ internet use and narrowing the digital divide. This research explores library roles in countering the digital divides for ethnic communities in New York; it specifically (1) identifies differences in internet usage between Chinese and Hispanic immigrant patrons of public libraries in New York City; (2) examines the role of the public library as a local agency for promoting ethnic communities’ internet use and narrowing of the digital divide. Accordingly, this research focuses on two ethnic groups, Chinese and Hispanic, in New York City’s three boroughs of Manhattan, Bronx and Staten Island, who patronize the local branch of their public library. Based on the findings from this sample, race in and of itself did not play a significant role for either utilization or individuals’ capability of using the internet. However, these different ethnic communities demonstrated unique internet-use characteristics and patterns that together may outline how ethnic communities approach libraries and therefore, in turn, how libraries might remediate digital inequities. Age, education, and the number of internet users at home influenced internet use patterns for these two ethnic communities. Additionally, this research, through measurements on both Internet utilization and capability scales, reaffirms that the public library is a positive agent in promoting internet use among ethnic communities. Finally, this project offers libraries specific, micro-level policy suggestions based on the internet-use patterns of these two ethnic communities to better meet local needs, especially for those frontline librarians or staff working with patrons. It also intends to serve as a model for studying other ethnic groups and areas while raising the library’s visibility regarding not only internet use but also acculturation via the bonds formed among ethnic communities.