Heading Detroit Public Library
Link to Site Map search site


Library Services

Library on Wheels (LOW)

Ask-A-Librarian

InterLibrary Loan

Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped

Detroit Community AIDS Library

TIP

Space Rental

 


 


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.

 

 

The Detroit Public Library. All rights reserved. 2006
Heading Detroit Public Library