Abstract
The marginal man is "one who is poised in psychological uncertainty between two or more worlds." The paper attempts to summarize existing literature on the subject of marginality in immigrants and to put forward some hypotheses about the influence of the marginal status on reading. The marginal status resolves itself eventually in acculturation. Acculturation is a two-way process which involves the individual and his ethnic group on the one hand and the receiving country on the other. Libraries can contribute to successful acculturation.
This paper was read at the opening of the Workshop on the public library and the needs of immigrants, held at The Polytechnic of North London April 2-4, I973. As a result of the discussions which followed, the Public Libraries Research Group have considered a research project on library services to immigrants (1) and the means for funding it are being investi gated.
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