Hyperlinked Communities- Language

After reading and hearing the different discussions, I was stuck on how to reach all users. The importance of being able to communicate your wants and needs in a language you feel comfortable with. Libraries are a place to feel comfortable; any community member can come and request help in their language, knowing that Libraries are to help. In my own experience, growing up as an ESL speaker, language was a barrier that prevented you from asking and getting help. Nowadays, libraries offer many community events and programs in various languages. Outreaching all members of a community creates a welcoming image. Migrant community members have different needs compared to classic Library Members. Many need to learn the services a Library offers; to many, Libraries are just books. I wish I had known what my local library had to offer. When I started visiting and working at a library, I discovered all the programs and services they offer. The lack of multilingual Outreach programs prevented me from knowing what Libraries have become community service centers. In Migrant communities, word of mouth still prevails when they share information. If they knew that libraries offer help in their language, that could spread to other members and turn them into new library users. Showing them the possibility to communicate in their language can be a tool to bring them into the 21st-century model Libraries. Access to information can impact academic performance in this community. Public libraries significantly affect the achievement of students and community members; when you realize what libraries have to offer and understand their impact, you agree that public libraries are very important.

(Vasconcelos Library in Mexico City.  Pic is no related to discussion I just like the Design.)

Language in its various forms, visual or verbal, delivers a message. When
translating info to different Languages it impacts more community members than we may think. As you are utilizing the same information in a foreign language, offering services and programs in various languages involves less work but reaching more of our community members.  The racial profile of our community should be a reflection of the services and programs Libraries offer.

REFERENCES:

Dali, K. (2022). Reading practices of Spanish-speaking readers in the United States and Canada. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 54(2), 188-207. https://doi-org.libaccess.sjlibrary.org/10.1177/0961000621996412

Sirikul, P., & Dorner, D. (2016). Thai immigrants’ information seeking behaviour and perception of the public library’s role during the settlement process. Library Review., 65(8/9), 535–548. https://doi.org/10.1108/LR-01-2016-0008