Arlington Public Library Honored for World Language Storytime Program
By Arlington Public Library
Posted on March 09, 2020, March 09, 2020

Arlington Library honored by National League of Cities

The Arlington Public Library was recently honored with a 2020 City Cultural Diversity Award for its World Languages Storytime program. The award is given out by the National League of Cities and recognizes innovative programs promoting inclusivity and diversity.

With the dedication of people in the community, the Arlington Public Library was able to offer storytimes in five international languages starting in March 2019. A year later, these volunteers still read to children each month in Arabic, Chinese, French, Portuguese and Vietnamese.

The library received funding through the Institute of Museum and Library Services to the Texas State Library and Archives Commission to purchase new books in seven top language populations in fall 2018 and spring 2019. During this time, the library was able to recruit and train volunteers.

The programming librarian has seen increased interest in the World Language Storytime program since the beginnings in last March, shown by the increased attendance at several of the sessions and more community volunteers requesting to become a storytime leader. The Portuguese storytime had the most consistent attendance each month.

The World Language Storytime program promotes early literacy and builds strong family relationships. The goal of this program is to create a welcoming environment for everyone in the hope that families might enjoy listening to stories in their native language or have the interest to listen to stories from a different culture and/or language.

The World Language Storytime program will continue through at least spring 2020. The Arlington Public Library also offers storytimes in English and Spanish. Click here for a full calendar of events.

World Language Storytime schedule:

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