THE American Library Association (ALA) recently released a study, entitled “Serving Non-English Speakers in US Public Libraries: 2007 Analysis of Library Demographics, Services and Programs”, on the range of specialized library services for non-English speakers in the US, Library Journal has reported.

　　The study looks at data from 586 US library entities serving at least one “linguistically-isolated block group” as determined by US census data. It is the first US national study to consider the range of library services and programs developed for non-English speakers.

　　The study found that Spanish is the most supported non-English language in US public libraries. Asian languages ranked second, followed by Indo-European languages. Public libraries in communities with fewer than 100,000 residents form the majority of libraries meeting the demands of non-English speaking residents. Literacy proved to be the most dominate barrier for non-English speaking library users. Finally, the study listed the most successful library programs and services developed for non-English speakers, including English as a Second Language (ESL) classes, language-specific materials and collections, computer use and computer classes, story time and special programs.

　　According to ALA President Loriene Roy, there are 21 million people in the US who speak limited or no English, 50 percent more than a decade ago. Public libraries have a significant role to play in serving this population. “Libraries are part of the American Dream,” said Roy. “The findings presented in this study can provide a venue for developing better and more precise materials, services and programs for those linguistically isolated. It is our hope that libraries will find this study valuable as a planning tool to better serve non-English speaking users.”