Abstract

Historically, museum curation and programming efforts in the United States have excluded marginalized populations, such as immigrants. While many museums are trying to be more inclusive, the vast majority of museum visitors in the United States are still White, middle-, and upper-class Americans. Immigrant populations in particular are overlooked by cultural heritage institutions, in part because research on how these groups relate to museums, and what they need from them, is lacking. To increase our understanding of how US museums do and do not serve immigrants, I offer a literature review focused on three research areas: immigrant information access, museum studies/museology, and immigrants in museums. The review examines immigrant interactions with museums, which influence how museums curate exhibits and create programming for immigrant communities. It reveals a gap in the literature regarding first-hand immigrant interactions, increasing awareness of relevant research and outlining new avenues for future research regarding immigrant populations in modern museums.