Home
> Services
>International
Language Collection
International
Language Collection (ILC)

Contact
information:
Location:
Parkman
Branch
Phone:
(313) 852-4027
Hours:
Tu, W: 12:00 - 8:00 pm; Th, F, Sa:
10:00 am - 6:00 pm
E-mail: ilc@detroit.lib.mi.us
Description:
The
International Language Collection (ILC) was established in 1866, only one year
after the founding of the Detroit Public Library. It is the oldest of the library's
collections. The first languages collected were French and German. Later, Italian,
Polish and Spanish were added to reflect the make up of Detroit at that time.
Today the ILC serves the entire state and its holdings are representative of every
continent.
The
collection's mission is to provide recreational and informational material to
individuals or groups who have recently arrived in the United States and to support
those who preserve the rich cultural variety of this state by perpetuating the
language and customs of their fathers. Collection emphasis is on fiction, classics,
juvenile, popular non-fiction, English language acquisition and materials that
facilitate intercultural communication.
The
ILC was declared a State Resource in 1976. All Michigan residents now enjoy free
borrowing privileges. This international collection reaches groups and individuals
in the Detroit metropolitan area and as far as Grand Rapids, Traverse City and
the Upper Peninsula.