Contact: Beverly Lehrer, 240-777-0156
For Immediate Release: July 11, 2001

Public Libraries Expand
Information and Reference Services
For Speakers of Foreign Languages

Public library users in Montgomery County who are native speakers of foreign languages can now take advantage of expanded information and reference services provided by Montgomery County Public Libraries.

When a customer calling the Montgomery County Public Libraries’ Telephone Reference line does not speak English, the library staff member will contact Language Line Services and establish a conference call with an interpreter. The customer can ask a question in his/her native language, and the interpreter will interpret the question so the librarian can find the answer.

When the information is found, the process is reversed, with the librarian providing the answer to the interpreter, who then passes the information on to the customer in his/her native language.

The interpretation service includes more than 140 languages, among them, Arabic, Cantonese, Farsi, French, Hindi, Korean, Mandarin, Russian, Spanish and Vietnamese.

The Language Line Service may be accessed from home, office or any Montgomery County Public Library by calling Telephone Reference at 240-777-0001.