Críticas Magazine

Bruce Jensen

ALA releases history-making report
March 27, 2008

Yesterday the American Library Association’s Office for Research and Statistics released a truly pioneering study of public library services to linguistic minorities. Serving Non-English Speakers in U.S. Public Libraries: 2007 Analysis of Library Demographics, Services and Programs is sure to become a go-to source that will guide libraries in crafting effective strategies for identifying and serving linguistically isolated users. And, guess what: most of them speak Spanish.

The study is a sophisticated synthesis of both survey data and geospatial information (translation: super cool maps) from the GeoLib Public Library Geographic Database built by Christie Koontz and Dean Jue of the University of South Florida. But it is much more than that: the "How to Use these Data" sections by Denise Davis and Dr. Koontz in the report highlight its strong emphasis on practical use of the findings.

And mighty interesting findings they are. For one, Spanish is far and away the most supported non-English language in our public libraries. Four of every five libraries reported Spanish as their top priority for non-English services and programs.

Survey data came from nearly 500 public libraries that reach and serve speakers of other languages. Here's a finding that might surprise you: most libraries serving non-English speakers are in communities with fewer than 100,000 residents.

The report looks at barriers to library use, ranks the success of various types of programs (ESL tops the list) and offers anecdotes about the experiences of several of the libraries that contributed to this research.

Worth mentioning that the amazingly rich GeoLib Public Library Database is at the foundation of this work. It's a powerful map tool you can use to extract a wealth of demographic details about your neighbors. Take a few minutes to get acquainted with the interface and before you know it you'll be generating powerful visual arguments to support your programming ideas.

ALA’s one-page summary of the key highlights in Serving Non-English Speakers In U.S. Public Libraries is at http://www.ala.org/ala/olos/nonenglishspeakers/

The entire report of more than thirty info-packed pages is well worth your while at http://www.ala.org/ala/olos/nonenglishspeakers/docs/Linguistic_Isolation_Report-2007.pdf.

Posted by Bruce Jensen on March 27, 2008 | Comments (0)