ABSTRACT

Spanish-speaking Latinx are currently the second largest racial/ethnic group in the United States however, general understanding of their use of libraries, museums and archives (LAMs) is limited. This study seeks to understand the level of use and perceptions of LAMs by members of the Spanish-speaking Latinx community. The results presented in this study stem from phenomenological interviews conducted with 13 individuals who identify as Latinx and live in the Boston metropolitan area. The interviews identified a wide array of experiences with LAMs in Boston. In general, libraries were the most used by the participants, followed by museums; archives were the least used. Participants who have or have had children living in the household indicated that their use of libraries and museums was mainly driven by the educational needs of the school-aged children in the household. This work demonstrates the need to create relationships with the Latinx community in order to encourage stronger and more sustained use of LAMs. The different areas of focus for the LAMs considered here are; the need for libraries to foster more consistent use among Latinx, for museums to explore ways in which they can encourage more visits to a greater variety of museums and for archives to create more awareness of the organization itself and its usefulness.

摘要

讲西班牙语的拉丁裔目前是美国第二大种族/族裔群体，但是，对他们使用图书馆、博物馆和档案馆 (LAM) 的一般了解有限。本研究旨在了解讲西班牙语的拉丁社区成员对 LAM 的使用水平和看法。本研究中呈现的结果源于对 13 名居住在波士顿都会区的拉丁裔人士进行的现象学访谈。访谈确定了在波士顿使用 LAM 的广泛经验。总的来说，参与者使用最多的是图书馆，其次是博物馆；档案是最少使用的。家里有或曾经有孩子的参与者表示，他们使用图书馆和博物馆的主要原因是家中学龄儿童的教育需求。这项工作表明需要与拉丁社区建立关系，以鼓励更强大和更持久地使用 LAM。此处考虑的 LAM 的不同关注领域是：图书馆需要促进拉丁裔之间更一致的使用，博物馆需要探索鼓励更多人参观更多种类博物馆的方式，档案馆需要提高对组织本身及其用途的认识。此处考虑的 LAM 的不同关注领域是：图书馆需要促进拉丁裔之间更一致的使用，博物馆需要探索鼓励更多人参观更多种类博物馆的方式，档案馆需要提高对组织本身及其用途的认识。此处考虑的 LAM 的不同关注领域是：图书馆需要促进拉丁裔之间更一致的使用，博物馆需要探索鼓励更多人参观更多种类博物馆的方式，档案馆需要提高对组织本身及其用途的认识。