Library Seeks Input from New American Community on Current and Future Resources and Services

As the Baltimore County community grows in population, we realize the demographics are also changing with an increase in diverse, multi-cultural families and multilingual households. Part of our strategic plan, Building Community for a Better Tomorrow, recognizes Baltimore County residents come from different backgrounds and experiences. Our goal of equitable access is to ensure every effort is made to provide resources and services for everyone in Baltimore County.

To help achieve this goal, we have created a survey for the new American community and members of affiliated organizations. According to American Library Association, the term “new Americans” encompasses people who might consider themselves new arrivals in the U.S. and anyone who is a non-native English language speaker. The results of this survey will help us to make improvements to our existing services and create new programs to meet the needs of the new American community. The survey is available now through May 13 and is available in English, French, Korean, Russian, Spanish and Urdu. We encourage everyone to participate and share the survey.

While we want to hear from you, our strategic plan is already underway with a series of ESOL Conversation Groups, both virtually and in several branches, and are led by Community College of Baltimore County. This allows participants to practice English in a comfortable and informal setting. Our branches are filled with resources to help the new American community, including:

• Books in Korean, Russian and Spanish
• Citizenship help
• Digital library with books, movies and music
• Homework help and test prep
• Notary services
• Resumes and job searches

We invite the new American community to come “Be All In,” an open invitation to explore our vast resources, learn new information, create something exciting or connect with others.