By Lethbridge Herald on September 26, 2020.
Caroline Moynihan
ONLINE SERVICES LIBRARIAN,
LETHBRIDGE PUBLIC LIBRARY
Late last year Lethbridge Public Library started planning for an Adult International Collection that we had hoped to launch in May. Unfortunately, our plans were a bit delayed, and the books we were hoping to add to our collection became a little harder to get. However, we are proud to announce that Lethbridge Public Library now has its very own permanent Adult International Collection.
In an effort to provide continued equitable access to library materials, it was important to the library’s collections staff to create a permanent collection. We take our collection guidance from our Plan of Service, which ensures community needs are met through responsive library services. In consultation with several of our community partners, library staff and library customers, we chose languages that are represented in our ever-diversifying and growing community. These languages include French, German, Dutch, Spanish, Arabic, Tagalog, Nepali and Vietnamese. Our hope is that we will continue to add languages and grow the collection as the needs of our community change and evolve. The collection includes both fiction and non-fiction titles.
The collection is located at the Main Branch, behind the Customer Service Desk. Titles are available for hold, and pickup, through our Curbside and Grab & Go Pickup services. You can find these titles in our online catalogue on http://www.lethlib.ca by searching for “Foreign Language Books,” then filtering your results to items available at the Lethbridge – Main Library.
Some noted titles include: “Autobiographie” by Tina Turner — Tina Turner’s autobiography translated into French; “En un lugar sin nombre” by Canadian author Katherena Vermette — Vermette’s novel “The Break” translated into Spanish; as well as French translations of works by Michelle Obama, Gordon Ramsay and Gwyneth Paltrow.
As this is an evolving collection, we encourage our customers to request books in various languages, and provide feedback on languages you’d like to see included, so we can make this collection one that is reflective of our whole community. Additional items can be requested by visiting http://www.lethlib.bibliocommons.com and suggesting a title for purchase at the bottom of the page.