The World Inside SBPL

The South Brunswick Public Library is probably one of the best first stops for anyone new to living in the United States.

This is true for at least a half dozen reasons. The first is obvious as soon as you walk through the front door and past the Checkout Desk. Our World Language Collection, located to the rear left of the Desk, includes shelves of books, magazines, movies, music, and instruction for anyone for whom English is a second language. The Collection currently includes about a dozen languages: Spanish, some Japanese and French, Russian, Arabic, Chinese, and numerous languages of India.

Available materials include fiction, non-fiction, and children's items. While its nice to have items in a native language a new resident also needs materials to study the English language and culture, especially if he or she is enrolled in an ESL (English As A Second Language) program or studying for a Citizenship Test (no piece of cake!)

Backing up the materials for reference and checkout are also support groups that meet regularly here at the Library: the ESL Class and the Conversation Class. The ESL class is led by a volunteer trained to lead the group. Participants much register at the Information Desk.

The Conversation Class does not require any registration and is an informal walk-in group. It is for people who already speak some English but want to develop their conversation skills in a social setting. Participants sometimes bring in mementos or photos to discuss with the others in the group.

In addition to Library materials on the shelves and the classes in our meeting rooms we also provide online resources for new Americans through our website. These resources, compiled by our librarians, include http://www.sbpl.info/links/ESLResources.htm as well as a set of links for citizenship and immigration topics at: http://www.sbpl.info/links/citizenship.htm.

So, please take note of our Library motto new Americans and know that the Library truly is your guide to discovery.