Mobile Libraries & Information Needs in Refugee Camps

In this extended abstract, we use a postcolonial lens with a focus on global citizenship to outline some of the information needs experienced by refugees in refugee camps. A postcolonial approach, as it is defined by Vanessa Iwowo, allows us to challenge the ways in which Western ways of knowing advance a Western hegemonic worldview. We note how mobile libraries are used to address information needs, and posit them as a useful tool for future work in this area. We suggest that LIS professionals ought to be actively involved in responding to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by considering and working to improve information access in refugee camps.

ince the formation of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in 1950, international governing bodies have been working to address the issues associated with the global experiences of refugees. According to the UNHCR, refugees are "people fleeing conflict or persecution. They are defined and protected in international law, and must not be expelled or returned to situations where their life and freedom are at risk" (UNHCR, 2020a). Our research focuses on refugees in refugee camps. Refugee camps are defined as "temporary facilities built to provide immediate protection and assistance to people who have been forced to flee due to S 18 conflict, violence or persecution" (UNHCR, 2020b). In examining the role of mobile libraries in addressing information needs in refugee camps, our intention is to advocate for the importance of global citizenship, universal access to information, and the ethical obligation of libraries to consider library service systemically and globally. This abstract is informed by a literature review of information needs in refugee camps, as well as an in-depth search for what programs are currently available to address these information needs. As students pursuing MLIS degrees in the context of an ALA-accredited program, and intent on enacting our global citizenship, we think that it is productive to reflect on international library values, rather than privileging values that seem relevant in our local context.

Postcolonialism & Global Citizenship
We take a critical perspective when considering information needs in refugee camps, and frame our discussion using a postcolonial approach, with a focus on global citizenship. In the context of this presentation, we use Iwowo's definition of postcolonialism: Post-colonial theory decries the universalizing tendency of Western knowledge as being the negative enduring legacy of an imperialist colonial empire, one that has continued to silence and marginalize non-Western subjectivities. It stresses that rather than assume a totalitarian and universalist orientation, Western intellectualism should not only recognize the legitimacy of other, non-Western world views but, more important, should be positioned as part and parcel of a plurality of knowledges rather than as mainstream. (Iwowo, 2014, p. 6) We also note the importance of recognizing inherent power dynamics associated with doing research in a global context, as is highlighted by Hesse-Biber's feminist postcolonial theory (Hesse-Biber, 2012). Within this theoretical context, global citizenship informs our understandings of the role we play as information professionals.
To paraphrase Paehlke (2014), global citizenship involves locating, contacting, and communicating with each other globally. While global issues are difficult to address, citizens can act with global issues in mind in a variety of ways, and in their day-to-day activities. To further add to the notion of addressing global needs, Christie's arguments in Sidhu (2017) suggest a method to combat indifference to global suffering through an 19 © The Author(s) 2020 ethics of engagement. This ethics comprises a responsibility to think through the social conditions that have produced refugees, a commitment to following practices that allow all people to best live together, and a care for the other that asks for nothing in return.
This approach complements international library values. For example, The International "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers" (Universal Declaration of Human Rights, n.d.). The next section of this abstract will focus on one library service that supports these values: mobile libraries.

Information Needs in Refugee Camps
Before considering refugees' information needs, the contexts in which information-seeking takes place ought to be considered. Refugees experience different stages of settlement (Andrade & Doolin, 2019;Lloyd et al., 2013;Martzoukou & Burnett, 2018;Smith, 2008). Lloyd et al. (2013) posit that these are transitioning, settling in, and being settled, while Andrade & Doolin (2019) argue that the stages are comprised of orienting practices, instrumental practices, and expressive practices. Orienting practices involve scanning and monitoring information sources in order to orient to an unfamiliar environment; instrumental practices involve actively seeking and using information to solve a problem, for example seeking employment and local service providers; and expressive practices involve sharing among individuals, groups and networks (Andrade & Doolin, 2019). An understanding of these stages and practices is useful for information professionals who wish to foster connections between refugees and the information they require.
Access to Information Communication Technology (ICT) is particularly important for refugees seeking information. ICT is "A rapidly growing area that includes communication devices, applications, and services. Examples range from satellite sensing and communication systems, to network hardware and software, to devices such as radios, televisions, phones, and computers" (Schramm, 2017, p. 87). ICT allows refugees to access information about their home countries, maintain transnational ties to their family and friends in their country of origin (Andrade & Doolin, 2019;Benitez, 2012), and communicate with broader social networks (Lloyd & Wilkinson, 2019;Mansour, 2018).

Mobile Libraries and Refugee Camps
Mobile libraries address information needs on an international scale through the following roles and services: ICTs, childhood literacy, employment help, higher level education, health information, security information, and community-building (Asselin, & Doiron, 2016;Bausells, 2015;Knight, 2009;Lynch, 2017;Virgilio, 2003). We identified a number of examples regarding mobile libraries' operations in refugee camps (Asselin & Doiron, 2013;Bausells, 2015;Knight, 2009;Lynch, 2017); for example, Relief International focuses on promoting childhood literacy with a Library-in-a-Truck in the Kelenterli refugee settlement (Asselin & Doiron, 2013). We also found an example of a nurse who established mobile libraries in Tanzania to help health workers in refugee camps update their medical training; this program was in partnership with UNHCR (Knight, 2009). Engaging with the communities themselves to see the best, if any, role for the libraries is paramount. One resource worthy of highlighting is Libraries Without Borders' Ideas Box, considered to be a mobile library in the context of this research.
The box provides satellite internet connection, a digital server, ICT (such as laptops), books, and more (Libraries Without Borders, Ideas Box). Importantly, these boxes are customized through collaboration with the community in order to ensure that the community's needs are being met (Libraries Without Borders, Ideas Box). If we consider Ideas Boxes through the lens of postcolonial feminist theory, we believe that community collaboration is important, but also that anyone doing this work needs to, as Hesse-Biber would suggest, be aware of power dynamics and willing to shift their approaches based on the needs and wants of the community. To view libraries through a postcolonial lens and to practice our global citizenship, we found that library service to refugees in refugee camps is an important topic to discuss. We see the use of mobile libraries as a meaningful and flexible intervention in addressing the variety of information needs that refugees may have while in refugee camps. The incorporation of ICTs into mobile library service is particularly important for connecting individuals to the information they need. Libraries Without Borders' Ideas Box acts as an example of a creative service that other mobile libraries could model. Questions arise involving the role of libraries in addressing international information needs, what approaches libraries ought to take in addressing information needs, and how power dynamics and Western norms shape current approaches.