Sharing new ideas, resources, knowledge and technology to keep abreast of new development in reference service field

Monday, August 18, 2008

Languages Spoken in the U.S

Did you know that there are over 300 languages spoken in the United States? According to the Census Bureau, in over 14 million U.S. households people speak a language other than English. Check out the Modern Language Association’s Language Map if you are curious to look up languages in your neighborhood. You can search by language and by state to find out where these and many other languages are spoken.

MLA Language Map uses data from the 2000 US census to display the locations and numbers of speakers of thirty languages and three groups of less commonly spoken languages in the U.S. The census data are based on responses to the question, "Does this person speak a language other than English at home?" The map illustrates the concentration of language speakers in zip codes and counties.

The Data Center provides actual numbers and percentages of speakers and includes census data about additional languages less commonly spoken in the U.S.

Tuesday, August 05, 2008

Unrated Films

Recently, I had a discussion with a colleague regarding unrated films.
What does that actually mean?
We received what appears to be two different answers from two different sources.
A Midwest Tapes customer service representative defined it as editing by the studio of undesirable segments for the home viewing audience.
On the website www.parentstv.org/ptc/publications/rgcolumns, I found a longer, and a little more confusing explanation.

As librarians, should we be concerned when purchasing these items? What do we tell a parent who wants to know what that means for their children's viewing choices?

Any thoughts, views, and clarifications would be welcome.

CMRLS Regional Reference Center, Worcester Public Library, 3 Salem Sq, Worcester MA 01608