Grant Information

PolyTalk Grant Narrative

PolyTalk is made possible by an LSTA grant awarded to Lincoln Trail Libraries System by the Illinois State Library. The grant narrative from the FY2006 application follows.

Imagine you are in a rural Illinois library. A patron approaches the desk speaking a language you do not know and may not even be able to identify. The patron has an obvious information need, but you are unable to determine what it is. What do you do? You know that commercial telephone interpretation services exist, but they are far beyond your budgetary means.

Imagine you are in an urban Illinois library. You are used to serving patrons who speak certain languages other than English, and you even have bilingual speakers of these languages on staff. Increasingly, however, you find that the demographic makeup of your community is changing, and speakers of other languages begin to visit the library more frequently, only to be replaced by speakers of still other languages several years down the line. There is no predicting these shifts, and the library continually struggles to serve patrons with whom it cannot communicate effectively due to language barriers.

Imagine you are in any Illinois library. You know that there are groups of people in your community who seldom, if ever, visit the library, and you know that their limited English- speaking skills are a major factor in keeping them away. Imagine that they knew that you could call an interpreter fluent in their native language at any time to help. Would this make them more likely to use the library? Would you be more comfortable encouraging non-English speaking patrons to the library if this support was available to you?

And finally, imagine you yourself are an immigrant to a new country, surrounded by people and institutions you do not understand, speaking a language you do not understand. Would you visit the local library? Would you expect it to be able to offer you any help? If you received a flyer in your native language describing the library’s services, and if you knew that a fluent speaker of your language was available by telephone to help you use these services effectively, would that make you more likely to visit your library?

PolyTalk is a simple, yet revolutionary idea. Nearly one in five Illinois residents speaks a language other than English at home. This figure translates to over two million Illinoisans, spread out among all 102 Illinois counties, speaking over 100 distinct languages. The challenge for libraries is obvious, and PolyTalk is the answer: a statewide network of bilingual volunteers from the major Illinois’ language communities representing 75% of all languages spoken in the state, made available for real-time telephone interpretation services through a centrally-managed online database. Through PolyTalk, any speaker of any language will be able to make maximum use of library services at any library in the state at any time. PolyTalk will open the doors of Illinois libraries, large and small, to underserved residents whose limited English skills have kept them from entering.

To our knowledge no such service presently exists in Illinois or any other state. Commercial telephone interpretation companies offer a similar service, but with rates that range from $100/month to $4.50/minute, such services are prohibitively expensive for most libraries. Also, while many Illinois libraries have made efforts to employ bilingual staff, no single library can meet the linguistic needs of all its non-English speaking residents.

Many languages are spoken in Illinois. The PolyTalk project will initially focus on providing interpretation services and related language aid materials for 75% of the most prevalent languages spoken in the state.

There is clearly a need for interpretation services in many counties due to the high number of individuals who are in this category, in particular counties such as Lake, DuPage, and Kane. What is easy to overlook are the many counties with smaller numbers of people who do not speak English well. In spite of their small numbers, their need is just as great as anyone in the counties with larger numbers. In fact it is arguable that their need is greater. It is unlikely that one will find the same support infrastructure in Marion County with its 291 people who speak English less than “very well” that one might find in Cook or DuPage County. An interpreter network would distribute language help such that all counties will receive benefit.

Through PolyTalk, for the cost of a telephone call, every Illinois library will be able to reach across the language barrier and provide library services to virtually all their constituents.

The genesis of the PolyTalk idea can be traced to the experience of a staff member consulting at a rural public library. A Turkish couple who had recently immigrated and spoke no English came into the library, and even though the staff member knew a few words of Turkish, he found that he was completely unable to communicate with them other than by gestures and guesswork, as the rural library staff had already been doing for some time. During the same visit, it became apparent that the Albanian population of the community included persons who spoke Turkish as well as English and Albanian (and other languages, for that matter) who could be made available via telephone to assist in such situations.

This Turkish couple, and all non-English speaking persons in Illinois, are severely limited by language in their attempts to meet their own information needs. PolyTalk is an innovative response to the formidable language barriers that make providing library and information services all but impossible. For hundreds of thousands of people all over Illinois—many of whom never visit their local library precisely because of language issues—library and information services cannot be provided without surmounting the language barrier. PolyTalk is a practical and achievable way to make the rich resources of Illinois libraries available to Illinois residents regardless of what language they speak.

Few non-English speakers can be expected to be as proactive as the Turkish couple. Many adult immigrants, even from language communities that might be considered “easily assimilable” (Polish and Italian, for example), rarely venture out of their homes and never visit the library due to the expectation that they will not be able to communicate with anyone.

According to census data nearly 20% of the population aged 5 and up speak a language other than English at home and nearly 8% don’t speak English well or do not speak English well. For adult non-English speakers who are used to relying on the younger generation to navigate through American society on their behalf, imagine the difference PolyTalk would make.

The new services that PolyTalk will provide will empower non-English speakers who already visit libraries as well as those who do not, as PolyTalk services are promoted in multiple venues and formats far beyond the library walls. The non-English speaking population of Illinois constitutes one of the most underserved constituencies in the Illinois library community. As immigration and cultural and linguistic diversification continue to grow in the United States, and in Illinois in particular, all libraries, whether urban or rural, can expect to be faced with situations where they are unable to communicate across a language barrier (see language proficiency census comparisons in Appendix). PolyTalk will be a crucial component in allowing all Illinois libraries to fulfill their charge to serve their entire community. Through PolyTalk, once again Illinois will show the way for libraries nationwide to adapt to changing realities while remaining true to the core service mission of libraries.