Melville library awarded for helping non-English speaking people

7/11/96

The City of Melville's Civic Square Library has been formally recognised for its work in helping people from non-English speaking backgrounds improve their conversational English language skills.

The library was tonight named winner of the 1996 Public Library Multicultural Services Award for its 'Social English Club' program.

Announcing the award, Multicultural and Ethnic Affairs Minister Paul Omodei said the City of Melville was providing a tremendous community service for its local community, which includes many migrants from non-English speaking backgrounds.

"In Western Australia, a major characteristic of our population is its cultural diversity," Mr Omodei said.

"Almost 30 per cent of all Western Australians were born overseas. Fourteen per cent speak a language other than English at home, while almost 16 per cent of the nation's indigenous population reside in WA," he said.

"With a community as culturally diverse as that, the public library service needs to reflect our diversity and promote innovative programs to help break down barriers, particularly in the areas of literacy and communication.

"This has occurred in the City of Melville and I commend all those involved in the program for their efforts."

The library's Social English Club meets informally at the library on Tuesday mornings, participating in a range of social activities to help strengthen English conversation skills.

Ranging in age from 20 to 70 years, club members come from countries as diverse as China, Croatia, Egypt, Germany, Hong Kong, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Peru, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, the United Kingdom and Vietnam.

The Public Library Multicultural Services Award was established by the Library Board of Western Australia in 1992 to recognise and encourage public library initiatives which meet the needs of multicultural and indigenous communities. It is jointly sponsored by the Office of Multicultural Interests and the Department of Aboriginal Affairs.

The Civic Square Library received $1,000 prize money, which must be used to further enhance library services or resources to multicultural or Aboriginal communities in the service area.

Media contact: Amanda O'Brien on 222 9595