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Multicultural Services

Linda Collins - Multicultural Librarian
Central Library
Guildhall Square
Portsmouth
PO1 2DX
023 9268 8259
libraries@portsmouthcc.gov.uk

Mission statement

• To provide a library service to the black and ethnic minority groups of Portsmouth
• To support and sustain the development of indigenous language
• To promote greater understanding of other cultures, traditions and religions
• To celebrate the cultural diversity of our city

Role

The Multicultural Library Service has two main roles:

• To provide resources
• Outreach to black and ethnic minority groups

Resources in other languages

• Newspapers
• Leaflets
• Books
• Multimedia Packs
• Videos and DVDs
• Compact Discs
• CD Roms

Portsmouth Central Library

• Dictionaries
• European Literature Collection including Czech, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.
• Children’s Dual Language Fiction in a wide variety of languages
• Ethnic collections including: Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, Farsi, Gujarati, Hindi, Japanese, Kurdish, Punjabi, Thai, Turkish, Urdu and Vietnamese
• Basic English texts: Skills for Life
• ESOL

Many of these resources are stocked at or can be sent to the branch libraries in Portsmouth.

Tours of the Central Library can be arranged for black and ethnic minority groups as well as ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) students. Please contact the Multicultural Librarian for more information.

The People's Network

Computers are available to use free of charge in all of Portsmouth’s Libraries. Software packages are available in a wide variety of languages.

Outreach

The Multicultural Librarian is a member of the Multicultural Link Group, PASG and PRENO and will endeavour to regularly visit black and ethnic minority groups within the city. Where appropriate these groups may be issued with a library ticket so that resources may be lent and exchanged.

LASA (London Advice Service Alliance) has produced a 'Multikulti' website that has further information on Library Services in the UK written in Albanian, Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, French, Gujarati, Spanish and Turkish. To see their website, please navigate to their link located under External Links.

Don't be selfish with your books (Uwolnij ksiazki dla Polskiej emigracji w Anglii)

Over the summer Portsmouth City Libraries took part in a project, which took place in Poznan, Poland. Organised by one of our Polish readers, Agnieszka Keck, ‘Don’t be Selfish with your books’ or ‘Uwolnij ksiazki dla Polskiej emigracji w Anglii', based at the Bookarest Bookshop in Poznan, was a campaign to collect donations of books in Polish for Portsmouth libraries.

The campaign was featured in the famous Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza, and on Merkury Radio, Radio Afera, Radio Eska and Radio Emaus in Poland and on Polish radio in England. 400kg of books were collected and arrived this autumn at Portsmouth Central Library. Over 400 books will be added to the Polish collection at Portsmouth Central Library. An official launch is planned for 2009.

Other books have been shared with the Polish School and Polish community groups in Portsmouth. Agnieszka said “Polish people love reading and want to share their books with Polish people in Portsmouth”.

The books came with this message: “Serdeczne pozdrowienia DLA biblioteki centranej w Portsmouth” (Best greetings to Portsmouth Central Library). Linda Collins, Multicultural Librarian, said that "The generosity of the Poznan people has given us a wonderful collection that I know will be appreciated by our Polish readers who are enthusiastic supporters of the library service”.

Multicultural Groups in Portsmouth

There are a number of organisations in Portsmouth that promote race equality issues.

1. PRENO's mission is to promote race equality in Portsmouth and South East Hampshire by empowering minority communities to have an effective voice and promoting good practice among service providers. To see their website, navigate to their link located under External Links.

2. Portsmouth Ethnic Minority Achievement Service (EMAS) work in partnership with schools to reduce the level of under achievement of ethnic minority pupils and provide support for parents needing additional information, knowledge and translation in order to participate actively in the education of their children. To see their website, navigate to their link located under External Links.

3. Чебурашка (Cheburashka) is a new organisation for Russian speaking parents with young children. From the 27th September 2007, they will meet at the John Pounds Centre every Thursday from 11am to 1.30pm. Для родителей с маленькими детьми Каждый четверг, с 11-13.30,начиная с 27 Сентября 2007. For more information, please email cheburashka@russiansupportgroup.org  or write to PO BOX 824, Portsmouth, PO1 9FJ. To see their website, navigate to the link 'Russian Support Group' under External Links.
   

ESOL providers in the Portsmouth area

These are the ESOL providers in the Portsmouth area and their contact details:

• Craneswater Centre:  Christine Pickard - (023) 9289 3921
• Havant College: Agneta Powdrill - (023) 9271 4055, email agneta.powdrill@ntlworld.com
• Highbury College: Christine Rumsey - (023) 9229 8983
• Portsmouth College: Simin Walton - (023) 9266 7521
• Portsmouth Minorities Support Group: Surobi Sen-Gupta - (023) 9229 1866
• South Downs College: Jenny Chandler - (023) 9279 7979
• Surestart Centre and Brambles Nursery: Supta Das Gupta - (023) 9234 4340, email supta.dasgupta@tpc.ac.uk
• WEA - (023) 9267 0591