Throughout the past decade, large populations of Arabic, Marshallese, Spanish, Russian, and Ukrainian individuals have settled in Spokane. With free, public access to key resources like internet access, computers, meeting spaces, reading materials, educational events, and more, Spokane Public Library helps integrate refugees and immigrants into the community and helps them thrive. By meeting them where they’re at and providing vital resources for their well-being, we can help empower them to rebuild their lives.

We not only decided to provide one or two translations but committed to providing seven quality options for our top languages other than English! We also worked to ensure access to translated materials was both online and in-person and engaging in fun ways. By creating library resources in languages other than English both in print, online, and through library cards, we are able to expand library services to those who need them most and create a more inclusive environment.

We recently worked with Thrive Center, the first transitional refugee housing center in Spokane that is currently providing housing for more than 100 Ukrainian families. We provided the center with pre-registered library cards and one family visited right away and was able to utilize translated instructions on how to check out items! In addition, our staff is able to better serve non-English speaking individuals by sharing our growing collection of translated books and materials with these translated library guides.