The Niagara Branch Library has a history of service to all
people by offering English as a Second Language (ESL) kits to its patrons.
The kits include books, CDs and sheets of foreign languages-to-English pamphlets. They also
provide passwords to two online learning programs that the library has
purchased. All can be accessed with just a library card.
Suzanne Colligan has worked as a librarian for 16 years, a
year-and-a-half at the Niagara Branch.
“Many people use this kit to learn English. Ultimately the
goal is about earning citizenship for some people,” she said.
Colligan added that the library has served immigrants from
as far back as the Italian immigrants in the 1950s and more Hispanic people in
the 60s and 70s. Today, many of the kits are for Eastern-Asian and African
immigrants.
“Many new arrivals need to learn English for a new job,”
Colligan said. “Some are more confidant and excited to be given an opportunity.
Some have never even seen a library in their home country.”
The learning programs, www.pronunciator.com, and SCOLA.org
translate over 50 languages. SCOLA users can view videos that teach different
phrases for different situations.
Colligan believes that as more people look for a better life
in America, the ESL kit will become even more apparent in Buffalo. One of the
places she expects a wave of immigration from is Puerto Rico, that she
identifies as not having a good economy lately. By Tony Callens and Benjamin Joe
