PARENTING books in foreign languages are flying off library shelves as multicultural communities seek child-rearing advice in their native tongue.

State Library of SA manager of public library programs Teresa Brook said demand for self-help titles in different languages, especially on parenting, was growing from migrants seeking advice in the absence of traditional family support.

“While picture books, fiction and non-fiction have really been popular, we’re now getting people asking for self-help books, cooking books, books about Alzheimer’s and, in particular, child-rearing,” she said.

“Parents generally go to their family and friends first when they look for information, but those from other countries don’t come here with an extended family.

“They’re turning to books instead and that’s where we’ve seen this increase.”

Ms Brook said books in up to 22 languages were available at libraries throughout the state.

Bhutanese and Dinka, spoken in southern Sudan, were among the most recent languages added to library collections, Ms Brook said, while the Polish, Vietnamese and Chinese collections were among the most used.

Charles Sturt Council Mayor Kirsten Alexander said libraries in the area stocked books in 20 languages and bilingual-story sessions, in which books are read out in English and another language, are held about six times each year.

Vietnamese migrant Thuy Thi Nguyen regularly borrows books on topics in Vietnamese from the council’s Hindmarsh Library.

See: Herald Sun