City of Canada Bay Libraries are producing a series of bilingual Online Storytime videos for children.
This comes after receiving a $2,000 grant from the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA).
“The City of Canada Bay is a culturally rich and diverse community, so we are proud to be able to offer Online Storytime recordings in English-Korean, English-Chinese, and English-Italian,” City of Canada Bay Deputy Mayor Stephanie Di Pasqua said.
The first Storytime video is available on the now, and videos will continue to be posted until September.
The ALIA Online Storytime Grant program was offered to libraries taking part in the Online Storytime program pilot, to support Australian creators and improve access for socially isolated groups such as children living with a disability or children who speak a language other than English.
In the City of Canada Bay more than 40 per cent of the population speak a language other than English at home, with the most common being Chinese, Italian and Korean (Census 2016). Bilingual Online Storytime creates cultural sensitivity and awareness, as well as providing an opportunity to engage with culturally and linguistically diverse families that may not be familiar with our library services.
City of Canada Bay Libraries introduced Online Storytime in April 2021 and have been regularly posting new videos online ever since. The Libraries team has worked to make the videos more inclusive, adding captions and key words from stories demonstrated in Auslan. Creating bilingual recordings further builds on the accessibility of the series for non-English speakers and for those wanting to explore another language.
