To create awareness of the resources available to Nashville’s immigrant and refugee populations, the Library engaged local organizations and formed partnerships with other agencies committed to serving these groups. NPL also created a Library Immigrant Advisory Council and asked members to help promote the program. While designing Pathway for New Americans, we learned ESL providers around town simply did not have enough classroom space and student waiting lists were long. NPL stepped in to offer free classroom space and free ESL instructor training. A mobile computer lab travels to different sites around town for groups to use online English learning tools, including our own language-learning database. This allows learners to study independently, even if they are not enrolled in a class.

NPL hosts New Americans Corners, kiosks stocked with citizenship forms, study guides, and resources. The Library also offers free ESL books, online programs, flash cards, and videos.The online New Americans corner is available in 5 languages and features an “Ask a Librarian” service in Spanish and Arabic. NPL has also partnered with the local school system to hold events at neighborhood schools that introduce immigrant and refugee communities to the public library in a familiar and comfortable setting. Those initial programs are followed by field trips to the local library branches so groups can learn all about what NPL has to offer.

Through the Pathway for New Americans initiative, NPL has positively impacted Nashville’s immigrant and refugee communities. The Library has helped reduce the waitlist for free ESL classes and, in less than a year, has taken 185 students on 12 library field trips, trained 101 ESL teachers, and educated almost 500 students through 37 ESL classes. The Pathway website has been viewed more than 2,000 times. We have provided immediate access to ESL classes and citizenship resources, and the impact is clearly growing. New Americans in our city now have better access to resources as they make a new home here. The best part is that they associate this journey with their new library!