Best Practices
E.S.L. Center
[The Jones Library, USA]The Jones Library E.S.L. Center is an award winning program providing volunteer tutors, tutoring space, study materials, computer-assisted instruction, citizenship classes, English classes and referrals to adult immigrants in the Amherst area.
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The American Place
[Hartford Public Library, USA]The American public library empowered many immigrants to transform their individual dreams and potentialities into American realities." Eric Frederick Goldman, "Century of the American dream," Saturday Review (Dec. 13, 1975) ...more»
Multicultural Outreach
[Boulder Public Library, USA]The purpose of the Boulder Public Library is to enhance the personal development of Boulder's citizens and to meet their informational needs, recognizing the need for a well-informed citizenry, the individual's capacity for self-improvement, the worth of each person, and the need for human dignity. The Multicultural Outreach department at BPL develops multicultural and outreach events and programs and provides a number of services to the commuity.
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New Immigrants Centers
[Austin Public Library (APL) , USA]The New Immigrants Program of Austin Public Library (APL) provides information and services to Austin's new, primarily non-English-speaking, immigrant population. New Immigrants Centers are offered in eight APL locations: Faulk Central Library, Little Walnut Creek, Cepeda, Ruiz, St. John, Southeast Austin Community, Terrazas, and University Hills branches. ...more»
Service for Newcomers
[Bibliotheque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ), Canada]To help newcomers learn more about their new country, Bibliotheque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ) offers, in the collection for newcomers, many documentary resources in which they'll find practical information on Québec and Canada. BAnQ also places at disposal a language laboratory so newcomers can improve their knowledge of French or of another language, and a software library to familiarize with new technologies. ...more»
Working together project
[Vancouver Public Library, Canada]Vancouver Public Library initiated the Working Together project in 2004 to develop methods for libraries to work with low-income communities through a community development approach. Funded as a demonstration project by the Office of Learning Technologies of Human Resources and Social development Canada. ...more»
Multicultural Service
[Toronto Public Library, Canada]Half of Toronto’s population was born outside Canada. 47% of the population have a mother tongue in a language other than English or French. Toronto Public Library recognizes and welcomes the responsibility to develop and provide services for newcomers and people with diverse cultural backgrounds.
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Multicultural Connections
[Toronto Public Library, Canada]The Toronto Public Library’s services for cultural communities are integrated into the work they do for English and French-speaking populations. At the Toronto Public Library, 10% of the collection budget is reserved for materials in non-English languages and another 2 % is reserved for English as a second language. In this way, the library is sure that cultural diversity will be reflected in the collection. ...more»
Library’s Multilingual Center (MLC)
[Central Library & Central Library Learning Centre Brooklyn USA, USA]Brooklyn Public Library’s Multilingual Center (MLC) serves as the library gateway for the borough’s immigrants. The Center evolved from thoughtful study of the borough’s changing populations and its needs and through the use of demographic analyses, telephone surveys and focus groups. The MLC sets system-wide standards for foreign language collections.
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Libraries for All Building Program
[The Seattle Public Library, USA]SPL is in the midst of a major capital improvement program that will replace, add to or renovate every branch in the system. As building improvements are planned, library staff engages the community in »hopes and dreams« meetings to find out what they want and need in their new libraries. These meetings, in conjunction with creative ideas from staff and hired consultants, help to create new buildings that recognize, celebrate and welcome cultural communities. ...more»
Talk Time Program
[The Seattle Public Library, USA]In the last 10 years, the city of Seattle has experienced significant increases in the numbers of immigrants and refugees settling in the area. The Seattle Public Library’s strong connections with agencies that serve these populations as well as community based organizations that serve particular cultural communities allow the library to provide services that complement those of other agencies. ...more»
New Americans Program (NAP)
[Queens Library, USA]Queens Borough Public Library is a national model in the United States for providing services to immigrant communities. Former director Gary Strong’s philosophy that »immigrant service is customer service« indicates the level to which the library integrates services for immigrants in basic library services. ...more»
Services for Non-English-Speaking Patrons
[The New York Public Library, USA]The New York Public Library coordinates services for non-English-speaking patrons primarily through its Office of Community Outreach Services (COS). ...more»
Library's and Information Services for Immigrants
[Stockholm Public Library, Sweden]Rinkeby Branch Library serves a very multicultural suburb of Stockholm in which the large majority of inhabitants are of non-Swedish origin. It is an example of a library that has made a great effort to establish adequate services to its patrons originating from many countries. It maintains collections in about 20 languages, runs an extensive programming activity and has even initiated production of children’s books in relevant languages where no supply was available from other sources. ...more»
Information Services for Immigrants
[Helsinki City Library, Finland]Helsinki Public Library, with its Central Multilingual Library Service, has developed its widespread services for immigrants by combining state funds with money from the city of Helsinki. ...more»
Series of Events
[Århus Kommunes Biblioteker, Denmark]Gellerup branch library is an example of a library focusing very much on outreach activities, collaboration and networking with neighbourhood institutions, organizations and user groups. ...more»
International Library – Learn German and teach German
[Municipal Library in Frankfurt am Main, Germany]The target group included adult migrants from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds who recently moved to Frankfurt and thought about learning German. The target group was later expanded to include participants of German language courses and literacy courses. ...more»
IT Courses for Immigrants
[The Hague Public Library, Netherlands]The Public library of The Hague, Netherlands, started six years ago with "Telematicacentra". These computer labs were introduced in neighborhoods with a high percentage of immigrants. Courses for immigrants on learning to surf the Web were developed here. ...more»
Computer Center of Cultural Roots
[Gemeenetebibliotheek Utrecht , Netherlands]With funding of the European Community, the library created a center on the cultural roots of different groups in the city in one of its branches. It was a success as a computer center where many different ethnic groups were introduced to searching on the Web as well as e-mailing and chatting with family members in Suriname, China or the Moluccas. The library is also frequently used for cultural programming. The objective to make this library a center of information on the different cultures, however, was not entirely successful. This is partly because although younger, second-generation people do want to learn about their roots and origins, they prefer to learn in Dutch as the language they master best. ...more»
Learning better Dutch at the Library!
[Gemeenetebibliotheek Utrecht , Netherlands]An open offer of language programmes on the computers in the library. The same language-courses that are mostly used by the training centres (New Neighbours and Ice-breaker) available in the library near home;... ...more»
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