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CLARKS SUMMIT — The Abington Community Library has been adding foreign fiction for all ages as part of its commitment to lifelong learning the past three years. The library has been able to expand this unique collection as it was awarded Local Share Assessment Monroe County Program (LSA) funds in 2015, with the commitment to use those funds to supplement the library budget for print and digital material.
As diversity in Lackawanna County grows, so does the Abington Community Library’s response to it, and new books are available to all patrons throughout the entire Lackawanna County Library System.
To best meet the needs of local patrons, library staff reached out to Vicki Jones, The Director of Language Arts Services, at Abington Heights School District and learned about the considerable number of English as a Second Language (ESL) students enrolled locally, who would benefit from having material in their native languages.
School age students throughout the area speak various languages including: Arabic, Gujararti, Pushto, Chinese, Spanish, Slovak, Portuguese, Indonesian, French, Russian and Vietnamese, to name a few.
The library will continue to monitor, and cater to, the specific needs of the community, and as needs change, provide appropriate material. A suggestion box will be placed in the Focus on Foreign Fiction section for patrons to add titles and languages they would like to see added to the collection.
The LSA funds were granted to the Abington Community Library in great part due to the work and support of state Sen. John Blake’s office, as well as state Rep. Sid Michaels Kavulich and his staff. The funds are monitored and distributed by the Borough of Clarks Summit.