Official launch of the Multicultural Library @ Calvin Park branch – Friday September 30th, 1pm.

Everyone welcome! Enjoy refreshments, a live music performance, library tours, and orientation for newcomers.

Multicultural Library project aims to turn Calvin Park library into a highly-used resource for the immigrant population in the surrounding neighbourhood, and the go-to library for multilingual and/or multicultural programs and resources in the Kingston area. The Multicultural Library project includes five complementary parts: multilingual resources, youth program, children’s program, adult program, and outreach.

The centerpiece to the Multicultural Library will be its collection. This will provide both multilingual and language-learning resources in Chinese, Hindi, Urdu, Arabic, Spanish, Tagalog, and Farsi, among other languages.

The purchase of these resources will be both a lasting investment and, the first push in a sustained effort to develop library resources that help new Canadians keep in touch with their mother tongues and cultures of origin, but also supports them in their efforts to learn the languages of Canada, all the while keeping them actively engaged in their local library.

The youth program will cover a need that both the Library and ISKA have identified as a priority: service to older children (i.e. those in grades 4 – 8). Children age 9 – 12 who have moved with their families from another country to live in Kingston face difficult settlement challenges with very little formal community support. ESL support at school is minimal, there are no settlement workers in Kingston schools, and there are no other after-school programs geared to this demographic. The Multicultural Library program will include a weekly after-school program for slightly-younger newcomer children (i.e. grades 4 – plus all-day activities on PD days. The program will include a mix of settlement information, cultural exchange, curriculum reinforcement, literacy and homework help, and arts & crafts.

The children’s program will involve learning activities both for newcomer children and those born in Canada. The focus of the program will be the stories of different cultures. Each session, different stories from a particular culture will be read for the children, in both English and in the original languages of the stories. Games and literacy activities will be organized around each session’s culture. Library staff will lead the activities; however, we will invite local ethno-cultural associations to host each session.

The adult program will include information sessions, orientation tours, and welcoming activities such as guest speakers, lunch or snacks in the courtyard, and cultural performances.