Finding Foreign Language Books

Do you ever read books in foreign languages? If so, you may know that Wellesley Free Library has a growing collection of items in a variety of languages. They are shelved on the second floor, to the right of the Reference Desk as you stand facing it. We have books in Chinese, Danish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Russian and Spanish and audio books in Spanish. In some cases, we have a few books that were donated to the library. In other cases, we are actively buying items to meet a perceived demand.

But, what if you want something in a language other than these? The Children’s Department has items in some other languages…Cambodian, Catalan or Farsi, anyone? They also have access to a digital collection of children’s picture books in a variety of languages. Click here to have a look. The library also has foreign language films. But, what if you were hoping to find adult level material in another language, perhaps even on a particular topic?

Your next option might be to check whether any other Minuteman Library has items in your desired language. There are many materials in many different languages among the member libraries. But what if you don’t see the language you would like to read in any Minuteman library?

All is not lost. The Wellesley Free Library Interlibrary Loan Department may be able to help. We borrow from libraries beyond Minuteman and often beyond Massachusetts We use WorldCat, a database of items owned by 72,000 libraries around the world. If you go to the WorldCat Language Cloud and hold your mouse over a language, you can see how many items in WorldCat are in that language. We don’t want to overpromise, because many of these items might be owned by libraries that do not lend their items, but we have had some surprising success stories. We have borrowed a Sidamo-English dictionary. Sidamo is a language from Ethiopia, with a very elegant script. We have borrowed a Chinese-English dictionary of accounting terms. We have borrowed material in Serbian, Farsi, Japanese, Doric (a Scottish language,) Tagalog, Telugu (a language from India,) Tibetan and Turkic, to name a few. We have also had our failures. We have tried for a Gujarati audio set several times, without success. You’ll never know whether we could find something in your preferred language unless you try us. To make your request, consult with the Reference Staff at 781-235-1610 x1117 or welmail3@minlib.net. The Interlibrary Loan staff sometimes feels like one of the best hidden secrets in the library, so feel free to give us a try!

SK

Interlibrary Loan's Top 10 Libraries Borrowing From and Lending to Us

Last year the Interlibrary Loan Department tweeted the Top 10 Libraries that we borrow material from and the Top 10 Libraries that we lend material to. You can find that on the official Wellesley Free Library Twitter feed.

This time around we thought we'd list the Top 10's on the blog for your reading pleasure.

Top 10 Libraries Lending Us Materials

1. Boston College
2. UMASS Amherst
3. Brandeis University
4. Wellesley College
5. Tufts University
6. Northeastern University
7. Smith College
8. Williams College
9. Amherst College
10. Mount Holyoke College

Top 10 Libraries Borrowing Materials From Us

1. Quincy Public Library (on behalf of the former Central, Western, and Southern regions)
2. Stonehill College
3. UMASS Boston
4. Mid-Continent Public Library (Missouri)
5. Tufts University
6. Worcester Polytechnic Institute
7. Boston College
8. Boston Public Library
   
9. Simmons College
10. UMASS Amherst

If you followed this last year you'll notice that there are some changes to the list. Brandeis University, Harvard University, Holy Cross, and Denver Public have all fallen off the above list of top 10 libraries borrowing material from us. They still borrow materials from us but not enough to warrant a place in the top 10.

Both lists also show that most of the items borrowed for patrons here and lent to patrons elsewhere are loans between Massachusetts libraries outside of the Minuteman Library Network. Most of those loans are also between libraries that use the state funded library delivery system.

JR

Interlibrary Loan Update

Did you know that Wellesley Free Library Interlibrary Loan Department can obtain books, scores, microfilms of newspapers, CDs, DVDs, etc. from all over the country for Wellesley Free Library patrons and patrons from any library in the Massachusetts Metrowest Regional Library System?

What’s more, in most cases, the service is free. Last year we were able to get 8,845 items. We were charged for 650 of them which means over 92% of items were obtained at no charge.

Due to the state’s budget woes, we presently have to pass on charges to the patrons in those few cases where there are charges. If you want to obtain something via Interlibrary Loan, but do not want to pay any charges, just ask us to stop at free libraries.

What kinds of things are we able to get for free? his fall we obtained copies of maps of bicycle trails in all parts of Massachusetts from the Library of Congress. e borrowed September 1945 microfilm for the Oregonian newspaper and the Austin Statesman newspaper for patrons doing research on how the Nagasaki bombing was reported at the time.

If you want to borrow something not owned by Minuteman, contact the Reference Department (781-235-1610 x1117) to make your ILL request.

JR

The Dork in All of Us – Dork Tower

Dork Covenant comically introduces us to the world of the maligned and misunderstood gamer as exemplified by resident dorks Matt, Igor, Carson, and Ken.

Kovalic's simplified black and white artwork places the emphasis where it belongs, on the characters and the plot. Some graphic novels draw the reader with great inking or smooth layering. Dork Tower offers something much more substantial.

The star of this volume is a gem for Lord of the Rings fans and can be found on pages 67-73. That strip captures the essence of this web-comic turned graphic novel.

Every volume sees growth in the plot and the characters. Kovalic touches on relevant issues from the time whether the invasion of collectible minis, the latest video game system, or being a Mac or PC person.

Not everything is an inside joke that only uber geeks can understand, which is a trap other comics fall for. Kovalic broadens the scope for a general audience while maintaining multiple levels of comprehension.

At the heart of Dork Tower are the characters. We feel their pain and their joy as they suffer unemployment, enter relationships, and support one another as friends should. Dork Tower has a little of everything and it starts with Volume 1: Dork Covenant. Grab it today from the Graphic Novel kiosk on the 2^nd floor behind the stairwell. You won't regret it.

JR

Rick Geary Graphic Novelist

I have been a fan of Rick Geary's ever since I picked up his The Borden Tragedy, which retells the historical murders of Lizzie Borden's parents in Fall River. Geary has a treasure trove of mysteries for the history buff and graphic novel fan.

His black and white style places the emphasis on the facts, or should I say perceived facts, of each case while also framing each tale. One of his trademarks is to create a cross section of the building(s) where the murder happens.

Recently I read his The Lindbergh Child. It is an incredible telling of the "biggest story since the Resurrection" as H.L. Mencken once said. Geary manages to effortlessly compile the different personal accounts, historical documents to evoke the setting and feeling of that time and place.

Geary has created ten graphic novels covering mysteries and murders ranging from the assassination of Abraham Lincoln to the serial killer Jack the Ripper. He has also eight other graphic novels such as Gumby and a graphic biography of J. Edgar Hoover. Most, if not all, of these are owned by the Minuteman Library Network. Our friendly reference libraries can help you place a request on any of these titles. If there is a title not in Minuteman then you can ask us in Interlibrary Loan (ask the Reference Desk to send ILL the request) to get it for you from anywhere in the country.

I hope you'll give Geary's works a chance and that you'll enjoy them as much as I do.

JR

Oh the Places You’ll Go With Interlibrary Loan

Working in Interlibrary Loan we have the pleasure of obtaining materials from very interesting and sometimes exotic locations. Sometimes it is the material that piques our interest.

Here are some of the recent interesting libraries and materials that have come across my desk.

Did you know that many US government agencies have their own libraries that lend us items you request? We do a lot of business with the Library of Congress, which is no surprise after one considers their massive holdings. We’ve also dealt with the US Air Force Historical Studies Office in D.C, the US Commission on Civil Rights, the Massachusetts Trial Court System, NASA, National Security Agency, Central Intelligence Agency, and the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island.

It is the rare exception that one of those libraries provides us with something a patron wants because public and university libraries tend to own most of what is desired. Every now and again something unique comes in and that is when those government institutions lend a helping hand.

Alternatively, we receive interesting tomes from less exotic locations. The demand for genealogical information has led to an array of data from days gone past. Or we may receive something in a foreign language. Russian, German, Chinese, and Hebrew seem to be the most popular and reflect the diverse makeup of the Metrowest Region.

I personally received several interesting books. Two of them were most surprising because they are primary sources from WWII published by Adolf Hitler’s personal photographer. Both propaganda pieces feature crystal clear photographs that open a window into the haunting world of one of history’s worst tyrants. These 1930's sources proved invaluable to my research and Interlibrary Loan made it possible for me to use them.

What have your experiences been with ILL providing materials from exotic locations or exotic material from any location?

JR

Interlibrary Loan – More than Minuteman

Have you ever had the following experience? You read an interesting book or hear an interesting program on radio or television. There is a reference given to a particular book. The next time you are at the Wellesley Free Library, you check the computerized catalog only to find that no library in the Minuteman Library Network owns the book you would like to read. You turn away in the disappointment and go home frustrated. This does not need to be. Instead, go to the reference desk and fill out an Interlibrary Loan request form. Your request will be handed on to the Wellesley Interlibrary Loan office along with over 9,200 other requests from all over the Metrowest Region.

Since July 2008 Interlibrary Loan has received over 9,200 borrowing requests and has filled 87% or over 8,000 requests. We service all 41 Minuteman libraries and the entire Metrowest Region. Libraries such as the one at the Caritas Norwood Hospital, Sherborn Public Library, and the Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis are just a few of the non-Minuteman libraries we regularly service.

Our Wellesley patrons have borrowed items on crafts and hobbies, medical topics, business topics and topics in art and music. We are also perfectly happy to try to get fiction not available within Minuteman. We have borrowed from every state in the Union and most of the Canadian provinces. Our office also handles a lending operation, sending items owned by Wellesley and the other Minuteman libraries all over the country. We loaned out over 5,200 so far this fiscal year.

In these tough economic times more people use their local libraries increasing the demand on limited budgets. Interlibrary Loan does its best to maximize every dollar spent to provide a great service for our Metrowest patrons. We cannot get every item we’re asked for but we try our best.

Every Minuteman member library has access to our office through your local reference department. Whether you live in Franklin or Framingham, Dedham or Weston, Cambridge or Waltham we’re here to serve you. If there is an item you want that Minuteman doesn’t own ask the reference department to submit a request with Interlibrary Loan.

JR