Mángo. It's not an oddly emphasized name of a delicious fruit from the Far East. It's the name of the computer program that St. Albertans can access to learn new languages.
The new addition comes thanks to a provincial grant of $790,000 for an expansion of digital services. Now, all facilities within The Alberta library system and Alberta Public Library Electronic Network will have Mángo available to provide online instruction in 48 languages, including 15 English as a second language courses.
"We are dedicated to opening doors, opening minds and opening global access to all Albertans through our commitment to public libraries," stated Hector Goudreau, minister of municipal affairs. "Libraries are crucial to building knowledge and accessing key technology."
The digital licensing grant comes in addition to the province's library funding of $32 million already in place for the two library systems.
As far as Heather Dolman is concerned, it's money well spent. The public services manager at the St. Albert Public Library has seen the boom in interest in this area. Mángo will be a boon for budding polyglots or anyone just trying to bone up on Spanish before they go on vacation. She says that this new program offers more languages and will be easier to use.
"The first system that we had — although it's undergone a change as well in the meantime — used to be that people had to download a second component which they used to have some issues with. This one they don't have to do anything extra. It's all there."
She added that the service is already up and running on the Resources tab of the library's website. It offers speaking, listening, reading and writing practice lessons, along with a versatile translation service.
This is just another in the library's bag of tricks to help people learn new languages. It also has a conversation circle ideally suited for new Canadians and temporary foreign workers to drop in on Saturdays to practice speaking conversational English.
There are a number of language learning kits that library users can borrow for home study, as well as a rotating collection of multilingual books in more than 30 other languages. You can even read the last 60 days' worth of 255 newspapers from 55 countries.
Dolman had another suggestion.
"With our DVDs, you can change the language when you're watching them," she laughed.
Morinville nets award
Minister Goudreau also bestowed Morinville Public Library with an honour at a library conference in Jasper on Friday. Morinville won the Minister's Award for Excellence in Public Library Service, an honour given to the facility for its innovative genealogy program.
Library manager Isabelle Cramp said the program was developed out of public demand.
"It's been very successful for us. Things are going very well. We're so pleased and so honoured."
The program offers special services and speakers to help people trace their own family histories.
Goudreau will formally present the award to the library at a reception on Sunday, May 15.
