Why Libraries Need Translation Services

By Sarah-Claire Jordan

Libraries are the oldest form of information access and distribution, dating back to ancient civilizations that kept collections of philosophical, medical, legal, and other types of writings in one building in order to preserve them. They have long been bastions of information for all to access, letting those who couldn’t afford books at home, and later computers or internet, to come and find information they needed for free and to get help finding what they need. Libraries are indispensable oases in communities where poverty and lack of good schools threaten to hold back even the smartest members.

There are a number of reasons why people go to libraries. Some just want to find a new novel to read without buying it at a bookstore, while others are students who need to use primary texts as research for a paper. Many people use libraries as classrooms, devouring information on how to build a deck, for example. Libraries are full of information related to legal issues, health, and more, so anyone who needs to read about those things can go and do so without spending a penny. Internet access and computers are another huge draw for people who don’t have computers or internet access in their homes. This in particular can be a life-saver for students and other community members who are trying to apply to colleges, look for jobs, or just stay in touch with family and friends.

As most people know, the U.S. never was a place where just one language ruled supreme. Even today, some of the most common last names are of Spanish origin, which gives you an idea of how far we have come in terms of linguistic diversity. Many libraries, especially those in areas where many different languages are spoken, have started to make things more accessible for speakers of other languages. Bilingual staff and volunteers are making a huge difference for non-English speakers who need help finding something in particular.

However, one thing is to provide assistance in another language, but the information that they are looking for needs to be in a language the library patron can understand as well. What good is it to provide reading material in English to someone who doesn’t speak it? Some libraries have gotten on board with the translation of many of their catalog items into the most common languages other than English spoken in their communities, but this usually means relying heavily on machine translation and then volunteers who can manually correct it. This is better than nothing, of course, but it is far from a perfect system.

If libraries reached out to translation services with translators who have experience translating literary works and other things found in libraries, even to just have a few popular works accessible to more people, then they would become more welcoming places for everyone in the community. The whole point of libraries is to allow people access to any and all information in their catalog of books, magazines, and more, so it only makes sense to do whatever possible to translate these and truly provide their entire community with the same amount and quality of information.

For an overview of our translation expertise, visit our media and marketing translation page.

Category: Translation Services