Turku City Library will once again celebrate multilingualism and mother tongues over the national Multilingual Month 21.2.–21.3. Libraries offer multilingual booktalks and many events in the spirit of multilingualism.
The first ever International Film Day in Turku Main Library on 5th of March combines the themes of the Film Day and the Multilingual Month in the main Library’s Studio.
– Multilingual services are an integral part of the library’s role in promoting equality and serving residents with different backgrounds. The Library offers books, magazines and digital materials in many languages which makes it possible for all to get information and immerse themselves in culture, explains Kalle Lintunen, the library information specialist in charge of multilingual services.
Materials and activities in many languages
There are nearly 100 mother tongues spoken in Turku and the number is growing. There is literature and other materials in the library’s collection in over 50 different languages, e.g. in English, Albanian, Arabic, Somali, and many other languages. Vaski Libraries patrons can use the online PressReader service with newspapers and magazines from over a hundred different countries in over 60 different languages free of charge.
– Library’s multilingual collection is being actively developed to meet patrons’ needs and the ever-changing circumstances. The Helsinki Multilingual Library’s collection complements the Vaski Libraries’ collection when needed, says Lintunen.
When the languages in the collection are mostly spoken outside of Europe, the books end up being chased outside the usual channels of acquisition. At its best, the collection is being developed in partnership with the patrons.
The library offers new non-Finnish or Swedish speaking residents an open and free space for experiencing culture, study and meet other people over e.g. volunteer work. Varissuo library’s multilingual story times or language school and language cafe activities implemented in cooperation with organizations, are a great way of parallel strengthening of the home language and the Finnish language.
Multilingual Month is a celebration of mother tongues and multilingualism. It takes place between International Mother Language Day (21 February), and World Poetry Day and International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (21 March). Multilingualism is visible in all kinds of encounters, discussions, projects, art and shared activities. Multilingual Month has been celebrated in Finland since 2015.