{"id":4901,"date":"2022-05-04T13:47:05","date_gmt":"2022-05-04T13:47:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.oclc.org\/next\/?p=4901"},"modified":"2022-06-22T13:42:17","modified_gmt":"2022-06-22T13:42:17","slug":"three-lessons-for-launching-successful-multilingual-programs-at-your-library","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.oclc.org\/next\/three-lessons-for-launching-successful-multilingual-programs-at-your-library\/","title":{"rendered":"Three lessons for launching successful multilingual programs at your library"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4902\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.oclc.org\/next\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Multilingual_banner.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1160\" height=\"370\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.oclc.org\/next\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Multilingual_banner.jpg 1160w, https:\/\/blog.oclc.org\/next\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Multilingual_banner-300x96.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blog.oclc.org\/next\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Multilingual_banner-1024x327.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blog.oclc.org\/next\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Multilingual_banner-768x245.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1160px) 100vw, 1160px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/cis.org\/Report\/673-Million-United-States-Spoke-Foreign-Language-Home-2018\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Center for Immigration Studies<\/a> estimates that 67.3 million Americans speak a language other than English at home, a number that has more than doubled since 1990. That\u2019s a huge number with powerful implications for social institutions, including libraries. For many of us, getting started serving those communities feels like an overwhelming task. I\u2019m here to tell you\u2014you can do it. And you can start today to make a significant difference for your community with multilingual programming.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>About ten years ago, my library system focused primarily on English, even as the Spanish-speaking population was rising dramatically. When we started down this path, our team was daunted by the size of the challenge. During that period, our library has made significant progress on expanding multilingual access, starting with hiring bilingual English\/Spanish speakers for branches and eventually adding centralized support in the administration. There are a few lessons our library has learned along the way that can help your library advance this important work to promote inclusion and access.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Welcome incrementalism<\/li>\n<li>Think creatively across everything you do<\/li>\n<li>Hire for the future<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>And the best news? You don\u2019t need to speak the language to get started.<strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2>1. Welcome incrementalism<\/h2>\n<p>You won\u2019t go from zero to hero in a day or a week or ever. This isn\u2019t a sprint. It\u2019s not even a marathon, since those have finish lines. It\u2019s a commitment to supporting other languages ongoing\u2014in a formal and consistent way. For that kind of lifelong commitment, you have to be comfortable with incrementalism. Here are some simple ways to get started:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Add welcoming language to your signage and operations announcements in the languages you plan to support.<\/li>\n<li>Have staff wear badges indicating which languages they speak.<\/li>\n<li>Provide welcome and library card sign-up materials (print and digital) in multiple languages.<\/li>\n<li>Use open access tools, like translation widgets on your website, and eventually expand to custom translation support.<\/li>\n<li>Promote library resources and offer programming choices in multiple languages.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>That last idea is important for moving forward as it helps evaluate community needs in a more holistic and inclusive way.<\/p>\n<h2><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.oclc.org\/next\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/OCLC.Expand-multilingual-access-for-library-customers.PLA-2022.627.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-4904 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.oclc.org\/next\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/OCLC.Expand-multilingual-access-for-library-customers.PLA-2022.627.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"627\" height=\"581\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.oclc.org\/next\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/OCLC.Expand-multilingual-access-for-library-customers.PLA-2022.627.png 627w, https:\/\/blog.oclc.org\/next\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/OCLC.Expand-multilingual-access-for-library-customers.PLA-2022.627-300x278.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 627px) 100vw, 627px\" \/><\/a>2. Think creatively across everything you do<\/h2>\n<p>You should look across everything your library does when identifying needs. They could be related to content areas and programs, but also welcome emails, forms, signage, social media, and partnership opportunities. Make staff at every level aware of what you\u2019re doing so they can contribute at any\/all stages of that cycle.<\/p>\n<p>Instead of going for big wins, we learned quickly that a clear process supported both better outcomes and our ability to commit to long-term, gradual improvements.<\/p>\n<h2>3. Hire for the future<\/h2>\n<p>Our initial forays into bilingual programming began with branch staff who already spoke Spanish, ASL, and Mandarin. Those interactions with patrons\u2014while helpful, of course\u2014did not fully take advantage of our team\u2019s potential. Because our early, incremental efforts were successful at helping us identify needs, we realized how extensive those needs were. And that meant prioritizing bilingual skills as part of our hiring process:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Hire bilingual administrative staff on programming, outreach, and communications teams who have a wider view on everything the system is doing, across all the branches.<\/li>\n<li><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4912 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.oclc.org\/next\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/2021_Tails_and_Tales_Static_Social_Square_375.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"375\" height=\"375\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.oclc.org\/next\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/2021_Tails_and_Tales_Static_Social_Square_375.png 375w, https:\/\/blog.oclc.org\/next\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/2021_Tails_and_Tales_Static_Social_Square_375-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/blog.oclc.org\/next\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/2021_Tails_and_Tales_Static_Social_Square_375-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/blog.oclc.org\/next\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/2021_Tails_and_Tales_Static_Social_Square_375-50x50.png 50w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 375px) 100vw, 375px\" \/>Make bilingual skills part of the job search and requirements.<\/li>\n<li>Provide a pay incentive for staff who help translate library materials outside of their regular duties.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Many libraries try to make some of those small, incremental changes I recommended by using outside translation services for one-off projects. Generally, those are very expensive compared to what you\u2019d pay a staff person while getting limited support. As such, I recommend working with library leadership to include translation duties in new staff descriptions, so translation support is prioritized in hiring and to maximize the impact of the funding.<\/p>\n<h2>Small wins, big gains<\/h2>\n<p>One big \u201ca-ha\u201d moment for us was when we started thinking about multilingual support in the same way we do about other content or program plans. Nobody ever started a library by saying, \u201cThese are all the books we\u2019ll need to have in order to be successful forever.\u201d It\u2019s a journey. And so now, we have processes and programs to help us move specific solutions forward over time.<\/p>\n<p>Rather than thinking of \u201cbeing bilingual\u201d as a destination, it\u2019s part of who we are. Toward that end, our brand and usage guidelines now include rules about Spanish. This helps us define who we are in relation to our communities and institutionalize the multilingual access effort. How we talk about issues, what terms we use, and how we present ourselves to customers can either open the door to lifelong engagement from customers or cause them to hesitate and turn away from the library. This is what multilingual support is all about\u2014reflecting the people who need our content, programs, spaces, and resources.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ll repeat. You can do this. You can start today. You can adopt an incremental mindset, have a blueprint for moving ideas into production, and work multilingual skills into your future hiring goals. All it takes is a decision about who you want to be.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Nick <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=nDECCp3peUQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">presented on this topic<\/a> at the OCLC booth at PLA 2022 in Portland, Oregon, USA. You can watch his talk, and seven other recordings from that conference, on our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=PbloUWCN5ZI&amp;list=PLWXaAShGazu5AqrDccYnsNFR7s2g2Acez\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">playlist from the event<\/a>. And for more community engagement inspiration, please visit the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oclc.org\/en\/community-engagement.html\">OCLC Community Engagement page<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Center for Immigration Studies estimates that 67.3 million Americans speak a language other than English at home, a number that has more than doubled since 1990. That\u2019s a huge number with powerful implications for social institutions, including libraries. For many of us, getting started serving those communities feels like an overwhelming task. I\u2019m here [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":140,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[115,96,79],"tags":[125,165,24,36,151,99],"class_list":["post-4901","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-community-engagement","category-diversity","category-organizational-culture","tag-community-engagement","tag-diversity","tag-end-users","tag-library-management","tag-organizational-culture","tag-partnerships"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Three lessons for launching successful multilingual programs at your library<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Center for Immigration Studies estimates that 67.3 million Americans speak a language other than English at home, a number that has more than doubled since 1990. 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That\u2019s a huge number with powerful implications for social institutions, including libraries.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blog.oclc.org\/next\/three-lessons-for-launching-successful-multilingual-programs-at-your-library\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"OCLC Next\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-05-04T13:47:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-06-22T13:42:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/blog.oclc.org\/next\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/multilingual_NEXT-Facebook.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"628\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Nicholas Brown\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Three lessons for launching successful multilingual programs at your library | OCLC\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/blog.oclc.org\/next\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/multilingual_NEXT-Twitter.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Nicholas Brown\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.oclc.org\/next\/three-lessons-for-launching-successful-multilingual-programs-at-your-library\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blog.oclc.org\/next\/three-lessons-for-launching-successful-multilingual-programs-at-your-library\/\",\"name\":\"Three lessons for launching successful multilingual programs at your library\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.oclc.org\/next\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.oclc.org\/next\/three-lessons-for-launching-successful-multilingual-programs-at-your-library\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.oclc.org\/next\/three-lessons-for-launching-successful-multilingual-programs-at-your-library\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/blog.oclc.org\/next\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Multilingual_banner.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-05-04T13:47:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-06-22T13:42:17+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.oclc.org\/next\/#\/schema\/person\/d674f781de270f48296e71d53bf63a7f\"},\"description\":\"The Center for Immigration Studies estimates that 67.3 million Americans speak a language other than English at home, a number that has more than doubled since 1990. 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He is the recipient of the 2021 Library Journal Marketer of the Year Award and was a Library Journal Mover &amp; Shaker in 2019. Nicholas is also adjunct faculty for the Department of Library and Information Science at Catholic University and Music Director\/Founder of The Irving Fine Society. He previously worked as Director of Special Productions and Initiatives at Washington Performing Arts, Program Specialist for the Office of the Librarian\/Office of Special Events &amp; Public Programs at Library of Congress, Music Specialist\/Concert Producer at Library of Congress, and Army Bandsman with the 215th Army Band. Nicholas is an active conductor, choral singer, and musicologist, and has performed across the US, Europe, and Honduras. His writing has appeared in Library Journal, The Horn Book, and HuffPost blog. He is a contributor to The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Bible and the Arts (Oxford University Press, 2013) and Popular Music and Public Diplomacy (Transcript Verlag, 2017). 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