An inclusive new video series is welcoming Columbia Basin families to join the virtual world of family literacy programming.
“One World Story Time” opened this Wednesday, and adds to the suite of early literacy initiatives by offering a dual-language story time series.
This week features Trail’s own Monica Mariucci reading Maurice Sendak’s “Where the Wild Things Are” in Italian and English.
Upcoming stories will be read in Japanese, Dutch, Swedish, German and a number of other languages.
This unique project is provided by the Trail and District Public Library in partnership with CBAL (Columbia Basin Alliance for Literacy).
L-R: Samantha Murphy (Library Director), Carolyn Amantea (Community Literacy Outreach Coordinator), Jennie Yu (Settlement Worker). Photo: Submitted
Dual-language videos will be released on Wednesdays until the end of June and are available for viewing through the library’s Facebook page and YouTube channel as well as on the CBAL Trail Facebook page.
“Children’s stories are read by speakers of other languages in both their native language and in English,” explains Carolyn Amantea, CBAL’s outreach coordinator for the Trail area.
“The idea for this came about as Samantha [Murphy] the library director, and I were watching a webinar about newcomers to Canada and B.C. libraries. CBAL has the connection to newcomers and, well, the library has the stories!”
Dual-language story time may also help bridge the gap between newcomers and all of the great resources the city has to offer at the public library and through CBAL.
“The library doesn’t see a huge number of speakers of other languages accessing the resources there,” Amantea said. “And we were trying to come up with a creative way to promote library services, and raise the profile of newcomers in our city.”
Samantha Murphy, director at the Trail and District Public Library, adds, “Promoting diversity and inclusion is fundamental to both of our organizations. It is important to respond to the changing needs of our community as we plan our programs.”
Jennie Yu, CBAL Trail’s Settlement Worker, is available to support newcomers to Canada as they settle in the Greater Trail area.
Learn more about CBAL’s settlement and language services by visiting www.cbal.org.
The Trail and District Public Library welcomes suggestions for books and resources that could be added to its collection. Contact Murphy at smurphy@trail.ca with your ideas.
CBAL is part of the extensive literacy network that supports community-based literacy work and learning across British Columbia and encourages people of all ages to engage in literacy and lifelong learning through innovative programs and community support.
