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Collection Development Manual > Libraries & Collections > Central Library > Language

Language

The Language collection includes study and learning materials for students of English and other languages, including grammars, phrasebooks, thesauri, general dictionaries, bi-lingual dictionaries, works on vocabulary, pronunciation, spelling, and reading. Some works in linguistics, etymology and academic subjects like the history of language are also collected.

The Language collection focuses on materials for independent learning. Spanish, Italian, French, Russian, Japanese, Chinese and American Sign Language are currently the most popular languages. The collection has a secondary focus on reference materials on the English language. This includes etymology, phrasebooks, and works on slang and regional language. The library is always looking for bilingual titles, especially bilingual dictionaries and grammars, for world languages that are lacking in the collection. (African languages are an example of an area where the library is seeking more bilingual dictionaries and other brief reference materials.)

This collection is heavily used by students and teachers of English as a second language, as well as by students, travelers, and independent learners high school age and older.

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Materials that are written primarily in a language other than English (including some bilingual materials) are generally kept in the World Languages collection. Practical and academic works on writing in the English language (style, syntax, and citation guides, for example), and some bilingual materials are kept in the Literature and Writing collection. At Central Library, both of these collections are kept in the Humanities rooms.