Do You Have Books in Languages Other than English?

Yes, we have books, movies, and magazines in many languages other than English.

The international language section can be found between the Information Desk and the fireplace area. This area includes fiction and nonfiction books, magazines and movies. Each format in the section is organized alphabetically by language, beginning with Afrikaans and ending with Urdu. Within the language, fiction books are first, organized by the author's name, then nonfiction books by the call number.

There is also an international language section in the Children's Library, along the wall next to the public computers. It is organized in the same way.

A few tricks for finding languages other than English in the catalog:

• Language can be searched as a keyword– and even if you type the language name incorrectly, the search bar will suggest the proper spelling and help get you to the right results. If you type just the language name without a format, items with the language name in their title will show up first (for example, tagalog). 
• Searching the language name plus the format (for example, tagalog movies) will bring up all of our items in that format and language. 
• You can limit any set of search results by language by using the filters on the left hand side (for example, here’s the same tagalog search limited to items noted as being primarily in the language). 
• You can also use the language dropdown in advanced search to see the full list of languages in which we have items. This way of searching gets you the same set of results as using the method above. 

In general, the first approach listed above is the fastest, easiest method and will get you the most comprehensive results. When items are cataloged at CPL, we routinely and consistently add the language as a subject keyword.

The two secondary approaches draw their accuracy from the fixed fields in the cataloging record, which CPL typically doesn’t edit directly. Most times this information will be present and accurate in the record we draw from OCLC or other sources, but not always. This is also true for the streaming records we receive from OverDrive and Hoopla. This is why you’ll see “unknown” as a language option in both of these filters.

If you’re looking for an item using one of these filters (either using the left-hand filters on the search results page, or the language dropdown on the advanced search page), and not finding what you’re looking for, try including “unknown” as a language in your search and it might come up.

If you'd like some help, stop by the Information Desk and we will be happy to assist you in your search.