Selecting and acquiring library materials in languages other than English: establishing non‐English collections for public, school and academic libraries

Abstract

For libraries to provide and maintain collections that meet the needs of their diverse community groups, expertise must be developed in sourcing, evaluating, selecting, acquiring, cataloguing and processing in an ever‐growing range of languages. A unique partnership in Melbourne, Australia, provides the combined expertise of a bookseller and a cataloguing agency to provide shelf‐ready library materials in over 60 languages. Non‐English collections can be established, developed and managed to meet the needs of both the library and the communities they serve. Expert selection and acquisition goes beyond language and relies on knowledge and understanding of the relevant social, political, religious and cultural issues. The creation of catalogue records to support the collections requires expert language, transliteration and translation skills. By combining the selection and acquisition skills with the language and cataloguing skills, libraries are now able to provide an equitable service to all client groups.