An outstanding report released last week by the American Library Association (ALA) study provides new information about library services and programs developed for non-English speakers. The report looks at effectiveness of services, barriers to library use, most frequently used services and most successful library programs by language served.

I wasn’t surprised by the report’s data that indicates Spanish is far and away the most supported non-English language in public libraries. Seventy-eight percent of libraries reported Spanish as the foreign language that is their first priority when it comes to providing programs and services to non-English speakers. Asian languages ranked second in priority at 29%.

I was surprised to learn that smaller communities are serving a larger proportion of non-English speakers. The report found that the majority of libraries serving non-English speakers are in communities with fewer than 100,000 residents.

Check out ALA’s one-page summary of the report highlights or download the full report. Stay tuned for a companion toolkit coming soon!