New Americans

The Central Valley is home to a diverse population of adults and their children from countries and cultures outside the United States. To assist these New Americans with understanding and accessing community resources that can help them adjust to U.S. culture and achieve permanent citizenship, the Fresno County Public Library offers many free services and programs. New Americans are invited to contact their local branch library for further information and assistance or call (559) 600-READ (7323).

 

    • Services to New Americans

      Library Card Your library card can be used at any San Joaquin Valley Library System library, from Mariposa to Bakersfield. Children under 14 will need a parent/guardian signature. Applications are available in English, Spanish, and Hmong. Photo identification (including AB60 licenses) required to have a card issued.
      USCIS
      The Fresno County Public Library is proud to partner with the USCIS to offer six Citizenship Corner locations, opening December 2015. In these Citizenship Corners, you will find resources to help prepare you for the Naturalization process. This includes information about the process, the exam and the interview as well as flashcards and DVDs to help you prepare. There is also AB60 information and financial literacy information for New Americans. Visit one of our Citizenship Corners at these following branches: Central, Kerman, Mendota, Parlier, Selma and Orange Cove. Opening December 2015.
      USCIS
      This page provides information on requesting consideration of deferred action for childhood arrivals (DACA).
      AB60
      Online resources to study and apply for an AB60 (or standard) California Driver's License. Free print resources available at Citizenship Corners in the following branches: Central, Kerman, Mendota, Parlier, Selma and Orange Cove. Opening December 2015.
      World Languages
      World Languages Collections - Materials are offered in a variety of languages, including: Armenian, Chinese, French, German, Hindi, Hmong, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Laotian, Punjabi, Russian, Spanish and Vietnamese. The Kerman Branch Library offers the larges Punjabi collection in the United States. There are significant adult Spanish Language collections at many branches that provide books and videos for learning English as well as novels (featuring Latin American authors in the original Spanish).
      Citizenship
      We offer resources to assist individuals preparing for citizenship, including civics primers and practice tests. We also offer voting resources in Spanish, Chinese, Hindi, Japanese, Khmer, Korean, Tagalog, Thai, and Vietnamese. Please check out our Citizenship Corners.
      Aprendo Van
      The Aprendo Van is based on the West Side of Fresno County and serves community sites such as Head Start, Home Base Head Start, Migrant Head Start, Day Care facilities in Mendota, Tranquillity, San Joaquin, Five Points, Halfway, Oro Loma, and Cantua Creek. AprendoVan staff are bilingual in English and Spanish. The goal of the AprendoVan is to assist parents and caregivers in preparing children (from before birth to age 5) for school entry and success.
      Literacy
      Literacy Services provide free reading, writing, spelling, and math tutoring to Fresno County adults who cannot read or write English. Trained volunteer tutors provide one-on-one, learner-centered assistants. Families of enrolled adults are eligible for Families for Literacy, which provides free books to children age 5 and younger. Conversation Circles are offered at branches to provide additional opportunities for Learners to practice their conversational skills.
      card
      Newspaper Source Plus has selected full text from a collection of over 1,000 regional, national, and international newspapers; also includes full text television & radio news transcripts.
      Refrencia Latina
      Referencia Latina Integral en español de datos de contenido que ofrecen las enciclopedias, textos completos de más de 100 libros de referencia, informes de salud, decenas de revistas de interés general y los informes de salud y un diccionario Español-Inglés.

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