Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Foreign Language books at the library

In the past, I have been really intimidated by searching through spanish children's books at the library. There are so many books! Plus, the books are all so irregularly shaped and the spines so small that no titles can be read. It reminds me of digging through the bargain bins at yard sales - a task that frustrates me on the best of days.

But today I learned a new trick! Maybe an obvious one, but I'll share it for anyone else who hasn't leapt to the obvious of searching library catalog systems.

I found this helpful hint at http://www.library.uiuc.edu/edx/forlang.htm:
If searching for a foreign language book on a specific subject, add the appropriate subject heading to the foreign language search string. For example, if looking for a Spanish language book on cats, use the following subject searches:

Cats – Spanish language materials
Cats – Spanish language materials – Juvenile fiction
Cats – Spanish language materials -- Fiction


Brilliant! I'll be checking out books on soccer, guitar playing and Mexico now that I know how to find them!

Me in a nutshell

Under One Techo | Under One Roof
I grew up an air-force brat, on bases and off bases, statewide and on foreign soil. Having lived in both Japan and Los Angeles (Little Mexico!), I have a love for both the Latin and Asian communities. But above all that lies a commitment to God, marriage, and family as the backbone of society. And with that, let the crazy, cultural mash-up begin..