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- Do you struggle with having materials in various languages?
- Is your community changing and you need material in different languages?
- Do you have limited funds to spend on developing a multilingual collection?
- Do you have difficulty finding where you can
purchase such materials?
The Southern Ontario Multilingual Pool (SOMP) may be the answer to your problems.
SOMP has DVDs and Videos in 23 languages and print material in 25 languages. The DVD/Video collection is rotated twice a year and the print once, thus providing a steady supply of fresh, popular materials. Membership enables an individual library to offer a greater variety and quantity of materials at a minimal cost. As well, you have the opportunity to offer material in new languages without making a large dollar commitment.
SOLS provides administrative support by ordering, processing and distributing materials. Economies of scale are achieved by using the purchasing power of many libraries together and you have no more worries about where to purchase materials.
A typical library borrows 15 print blocks and 15 video blocks. Each block contains 20 items. At an average cost of $25 for print and $35 for DVD/Video, the material would cost $18,000 and you would have to catalogue, order and process the material. Compare this to the cost of SOMP membership in 2005 of $1310.87 plus GST and you realize that you can get a lot more for your money plus you get a collection that is constantly changing. SOMP allows you to expand and diversify your multilingual collection in a cost effective manner.
Another benefit of belonging to SOMP is the Annual General Meeting held in the spring allows you to develop contacts with other libraries with similar interests. The members decide what languages and formats should be purchased for the upcoming year at the AGM. SOMP currently has 23 member libraries with a shared goal of serving our multilingual communities.
For more information or to become a member of SOMP, contact Susan Crawford, Chairperson of SOMP at 905-668-6531 ext. 2027 or email scrawford@whitbylibrary.on.ca. You may also contact Lynda Dowdle, SOLS Pools Administrator at 1-800-387-5765, ext. 5124 or pools@sols.org.