Meet the World Languages Collection
If you read or speak in a language other than English, have you discovered our World Languages collection of books and movies?
Burlington Public Library has a diverse collection of original works and translated books for adults written in fifteen world languages, with a selection of children’s books in nine of these languages. And this month, we’re excited to add a selection of Portuguese books for both kids and adults to our World Languages collection!
With your BPL card, you can borrow books for adults and children in Arabic, Chinese, French, Hindi, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Russian, Spanish, and Ukrainian, and for adults in Dutch, German, Japanese, Korean, Tagalog, and Urdu. When you browse the online catalogue and find a book or DVD you want to borrow, please place a hold on it, and we’ll send it to your local branch for you to pick up.
How We Select Our World Language Books
With so many languages and dialects spoken globally, we work hard to ensure our collection is inclusive and represents our community. We rely on local and national demographic information to help us decide which languages to include in our community’s collection.
Once we know which world languages Burlington residents most frequently speak, we reach out to our book suppliers to see what books in those languages may be available for us to buy that also meet our specific requirements.
Our suppliers help us find popular titles published within the past five years that can be shipped to Canada, meet our collection guidelines, and provide cataloguing information, such as book details in their original language.
And, of course, the items must be affordable and in good condition! The cost of items in languages other than French or English is also significantly higher. For example, a softcover book in English costs around $20-25, but a softcover book in Polish is closer to $60.
And then we wait…
It takes much longer to get world language items, so we receive very few shipments each year. Our book suppliers wait until there are enough items to bundle and ensure they are in good condition before shipping to us.
Finding World Language Items in BPL’s Catalogue
The complete collection of world language items is in the online catalogue. When starting your search from the library's website, type the language you want to read in the top Search field. For example, if you want to find books and movies in Urdu, type Urdu and then hit enter:
Or, when starting your search from the library's catalogue, make sure to search by Keyword (not Subject).
Either way, from the search result, select the black “Filter results” button on the left side of the screen to see a side menu called “Filter your results by.” Scroll down the menu to find the Languages option, and select the items you want to see:
If you need help finding library items, our staff are always happy to help you!
Thanks for Offering
We always appreciate it when people ask about donating their books to our world languages collection. Unfortunately, due to cataloguing and collection development requirements, we cannot accept donated copies or your suggestions to add specific titles to the collection. We work closely with our suppliers and rely on their expertise and experience to find us the best titles for you to take home and enjoy!
