Cortelyou Library Leads The Way In Using BPL’s New Multi-Lingual Services

“Nearly half of all Brooklynites speak a language other than English at home,” says Eva Raison, the Brooklyn Public Library’s coordinator of immigrant services.

Starting in November, the Brooklyn Public Library became the first library system in New York City to offer free interpretation services via telephone — and the service is now available in over 100 languages, the BPL said in a statement.

Language Line usage has been most frequent at Central Library, but among the branches, the service has been used most often at our very own Cortelyou Library, where librarians have assisted patrons in Albanian, Bengali, Georgian and Spanish.

Launched through a partnership with Apple Bank, Language Line is now available in all 60 Brooklyn libraries, giving non-English speakers greater access to library books and services for job hunters and small businesses, the BPL said.

In the three months since the the service was introduced, librarians at 19 branches have fielded inquiries in 12 different languages. Systemwide, translation has been requested most often in Spanish, Haitian Creole and French, the BPL said.

The phone-based translation service is used by staff in various public agencies, including the dispatchers in New York’s 911 and 311 call centers and hospitals.

With support from Apple Bank, the Brooklyn Public Library also hosts a monthly series of 10 multilingual family cultural programs in branches throughout the borough, and has purchased new ESOL materials and citizenship books for its “New Americans Corners.”

For more information about the Brooklyn Public Library’s multilingual programs and services for immigrants, visit their website.