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Social inclusion of refugees and asylum seekers: The role of public libraries in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area

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Serra, Sofia, Revez, Jorge·2024·Journal of Librarianship and Information Science
DOI 10.1177/09610006221146549
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Abstract

Social inclusion of refugees and asylum seekers includes addressing their information needs. This research seeks to examine the role of public libraries in this process through the analysis of public librarians’ perceptions. Based on the constructivist paradigm, the case study method, and the semi-directive interview survey technique, 16 public municipal libraries in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area (Portugal) are studied. The results highlight that these libraries do not identify forced migrants as their users. Still, they consider that the information needs and behaviors and the use of libraries by these communities are similar to those of economic migrants, with emphasis on the relevance of free access to the internet, foreign language resources, Portuguese language and digital literacy courses, and help to interact with online platforms. The gaps include the existence of few Portuguese courses for foreigners, a limited practice in assisting with job and housing searches, promoting health literacy, and inclusive collaboration with schools, as well as space, financial, and human resources constraints. To overcome these difficulties, librarians emphasize the motivation to fulfill the inclusive social mission of the public library, the universal accessibility and informal environment of the library, and its action to promote social cohesion and social capital. The respondents consider that the mission of public libraries is adjusted to the goal of social inclusion of forced migrants, but that there is room for improvement in the training of librarians. This research points to the need for more initiative-taking public library collaboration with existing inclusion networks. In conclusion, we seek to alert to the urgency of the involvement of Portuguese public libraries in the social inclusion of forced migrants, which will also contribute to their institutional legitimization.

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  • Staff and programmes frequently translate abstract access into practical capability by helping people navigate information, technologies, institutions and local opportunities.

    “Staff and programmes frequently translate abstract access into practical capability by helping people navigate information, technologies, institutions and local opportunities (Bertot et al., 2013;Johnston, 2019;Serra and Revez, 2024).”

    From Public libraries as social infrastructure: An integrative review of community roles (2026) · cites this paper as Serra and Revez, 2024

    The section on information needs, behavior, and library use reports help with administrative platforms, referrals to other institutions, and cultural activities, supporting the idea that staff and services can make access more usable. But it also says most interviewed librarians had little or no experience serving forced migrants; the paper does not establish that this help occurs frequently or that the identified needs for jobs and housing are routinely met. The indexed passages provide section labels but no page numbers. (LLM, conf=0.86)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Public libraries in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area can support the social inclusion of refugees and asylum seekers by addressing information needs and providing welcoming institutional contact.

    “Serra and Revez (2024) demonstrate that public libraries in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area can support the social inclusion of refugees and asylum seekers by addressing information needs and providing welcoming institutional contact.”

    From Public libraries as social infrastructure: An integrative review of community roles (2026) · cites this paper as Serra and Revez (2024)

  • Public libraries do not only offer resources; they help people use them.

    “Public libraries do not only offer resources; they help people use them.”

    From Public libraries as social infrastructure: An integrative review of community roles (2026) · cites this paper as Serra and Revez, 2024

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Serra, S., & Revez, J.
Affiliations
University of Lisbon (PT)
Corresponding author
Revez, Jorge
ORCID
Venue
Journal of Librarianship and Information Science
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Published
2023-01-12
Volume
56
Issue
2
Pages
397-414
ISSN
  • 0022-2232 (ISSN-L)
  • 0961-0006
  • 1741-6477
DOI
10.1177/09610006221146549
OpenAlex
W4319840136
Cited by
24
References
2
Citations by year
2026: 10 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 4
FWCI
18.84
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Journal of Librarianship and Information Science (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • Portuguese National Funding Agency for Science, Research and Technology (RCAAP Project by FCT) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Library and Information Sciences › Library Science and Administration
  • Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Information Systems › Information Science and Libraries
  • Social Sciences › Library and Information Sciences › Library Science and Information Literacy
Keywords
social inclusion, refugees, asylum seekers, forced migrants, public libraries, municipal libraries, librarian perceptions, information needs, digital literacy, language learning, health literacy, social cohesion, social capital, librarian training, Lisbon Metropolitan Area

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