Press, Community, and Library: A Study of the Chinese-language Newspapers Published in North America

摘要

Often classified as ethnic press or immigrant press, hundreds of Chinese-language newspapers have been published in North America since 1850s. This paper presents the preliminary results of a comprehensive study of this unique genre of publication. After a brief introduction, this paper offers some general observations about the relationships between the Chinese community and its press. Then it proceeds to outline the historical development of the Chinese-language press in North America. A snapshot of the contemporary newspaper is also provided, with examples from two metropolitan areas: the New York City-New Jersey metropolitan area in the U.S. and the Greater Toronto Area in Canada. At the end of the paper, issues relevant to the library community are discussed.