Non-English language acquisitions

• Canada is a country of immigrants.
o Because of this, the country is also bilingual. Numerous languages are available.

Immigrants by Source Area 2002
Where are people coming from to Canada? People from the U.S. and Europe will speak English. Citizens of South and Central America also speak Spanish and Portuguese.

Immigrants by top ten source countries
The Chinese language is written the same in all areas that speak and read Chinese. The dialect from different regions differs. India, however, has a numerous wide variety of languages.

Population by Mother Tongue

• Canada e-Book. “Multilingual Canada”
• Click on tables for figures
  http://142.206.72.67/02/02a/02a_007_e.htm#t02

Non-English Why?

• Public Library
  o serve all taxpayers
  * of different languages
  o interest in “reading” non-English materials by general public
  o non-English/French speaking immigrants
  o multiculturalism
• School Library
  o support language programs
  * support classes and curriculum
  o mult-ethnic student backgrounds
  * recent immigrants
  * ethnic minorities
• Academic Library
  o language and literature courses
  o higher level research
  * for foreign students
• Special Library
  o major competitors in other countries
  * business contacts, culture information, what are they doing?
  o research in specialized fields
  o foreign trading partners

Obstacles to selection

• Cost
  o Generally foreign language material will be more expensive to obtain
  o marketing, exchange rates, shipping charges, etc. must be taken into account
• Lack of expertise in language/culture
  o talk to someone who does have expertise
• Few selection aids
  o particularly in English language for foreign language materials
• Time
  o Equals money. It will take longer to find and receive materials.

Review journals

• New York Times Book Review
• Times Literary Supplement
• World Literature Todayo Review for major European languages
• Booklisto The ultimate review
  o will review popular books in a certain language
  o will get citation and ordering information
  o Everyone will rush to get an item
• Choiceo Academic review
  o A list of European books from the previous year
• Horn Book Magazineo Children’s
• Criticaso Spanish language library journal for school and public libraries

Sometimes reviews can be found for foreign language materials that have been translated.

Other sources

• National bibliographies
• In print (trade) bibliographies
  o French/German Books in Print
• Online bookstores, e.g. Amazone.de
  o German
  o French Amazon.fr
  o Austrian Amazon.at
• Publishers’ catalogues
  o Available via Libdex
• Ethnic bookstores/organizations
• Lists from other libraries
• Subject specialists
  o What is suited to a library?
• Patrons
  o What are they looking for?
• Foreign journals
  o Links from library websites