Blog

I firmly believe that the Whitefish Bay Public Library has one of the best websites in the county. It is straightforward, intuitive, and doesn’t bombard you with too much information on the page. Now with that lead in you might think this is an informational blog, a how-to in navigating the site, alas, it is not. Though, if you haven’t explored our website I think you will be amazed by with the wealth of information and resources available to you. A very helpful ‘tab’ on the home or front page of our site. It’s the ‘Read and Research’ tab near the top of the home page. Under the Read and Research tab you will click on ‘Research/Online Tools (Databases)’ to uncover entire databases from Consumer Reports, Newspapers of the World (notably you’ll find the long awaited return of the Milwaukee Journal), Ancestry.com(which can only be used within the library building), academic and scientific journals, and now to the focus of this blog which is our free online language resource called “Transparent Language”.

Transparent Language is an online learning platform that offers over 100 languages to choose from including subcategories within several for distinct dialects. Some examples of languages included are:  American Sign Language, Amharic, Somali, Irish, Lithuanian, Cree, Urdu, Haitian Creole, Hmong, and Finnish to name only a few! A unique feature of this program is the ability to conduct your learning in languages other than English.  This is wonderful for those with a first or preferred language other than English. For example, learn German in Spanish, Portuguese, or Turkish! Or to learn English there are over 35 languages to set as your preference. Just clicking around on the options is a fun exercise.

The Transparent Language model uses a combination of written, audio, and visual tools. You can use your computer or download the app for your iPad or tablet. Once you are in the ‘Research/Online (Databases)’ section, you’ll see there are several ways to search for what you are interested in. You will hit ‘Foreign Languages’ and it will direct you to a link for Transparent Language. The next step is creating an account which requires minimal information. If you prefer, before you create an account, watch an introductory video outlining the basics of getting started. Happy New Year and Happy Learning. As always, please stop by or call the Adult Reference desk if you need help or have any questions. We are here to help you navigate!