Article published in the Nebraska Library Association Quarterly.
Pictures from the NMRT meeting are on Flickr.
At the NMLA/MPLA 2007 conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico, I attended a talk called “Launching 90 Languages for Your Patrons: Language Learning and Global Culture in the Library,” by Stephen Shorb and Marvel Maring of the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO). They showed slides of UNO’s Language Learning Center, an area of Criss Library that I admired. Stephen Shorb also showed slides from SCOLA, the non-profit foreign language network that provides streaming video to the Language Learning Center.
Before I saw the presentation NMLA/MPLA, I had no idea the extent of tools in the Language Learning Center: not only are there 4 LCD screens with a constant selection of foreign language material to watch, but there is great language learning software on the 6 workstations. The video content provided by SCOLA is what most caught my attention.
SCOLA (which is a root word for school) is “a non-profit educational organization that receives and re-transmits television programming from around the world in native languages.” (http://www.scola.org) Located outside of McClelland, Iowa, the old houses and farmland surrounding SCOLA make a lovely contrast to the abundance of satellites and electronic equipment. Founded by Reverend Leland Lubbers in 1981 at Creighton University, SCOLA has grown into ant organization that provides classroom material, photos, video, and other content from around the world. When I learned that the NLA’s New Member Round Table would be visiting SCOLA at their spring meeting, I jumped at the chance to go.
The meeting began at Criss Library, where we received a tour of the Language Learning Center from Marvel Maring and Greg Sunderman. We were able to try out the software and watch 3 channels of content. While we held our meeting in the Language Learning Center, students waited anxiously to get back into the popular area, which features comfortable seating in addition to the spacious computer stations and work tables. After our tour of the Language Learning Center and the rest of Criss Library (which was also inspiring!) the group headed to McClelland, Iowa for our tour of SCOLA.
When we arrived at the facilities, Francis Lajba, SCOLA’s President/CEO, met us out front. Francis is friendly and looks more like a farmer than a CEO, and his excitement about SCOLA is contagious. Our first stop on the tour was the communications center, where staff at SCOLA receive content from around the world and reformat it into 5 channels of programming. Some programming shown on SCOLA’s channels comes in by satellite, but other content comes by video tape or DVD. This is some of the most extraordinary content, because it is not easily accessible anywhere else. Nothing could quite prepare me for the sheer amount of electronics in one room at the command center. SCOLA staff, many of who live in nearby towns, staff the center 24/7, as SCOLA is never off the air. Francis explained some of intricacies of satellite communication and super high speed internet connectivity.
We next moved into the main building of SCOLA. Francis showed us his office, which is painted John Deere green and yellow and is filled with artifacts from around the world. We met many of the people that help run SCOLA, as well as the fascinating founder, Reverend Leland Lubbers. I wish I had tape recorded the entire tour, because there was so much said and so much to take in. I snapped as many pictures as I possibly could. I wondered if perhaps I might be going overboard in my picture taking, but Francis assured me later that I was nothing compared to some visitors.
One of the many exciting aspects of SCOLA is their partnership with China Yellow River Television. As part of this agreement, two people come to Nebraska and produce a news program that is broadcast back to China. Upon request, the anchor showed us the beautiful traditional Chinese outfits she wears on air when we toured the studio. This partnership embodies the spirit of international collaboration that SCOLA is all about.
In our very thorough tour, we got to see digitization equipment and countless videotapes (I couldn’t help but wonder if perhaps they could use a cataloger). The tour ended with snacks and conversation with many of the staff of SCOLA. The hospitality was just what you’d expect in small town Iowa, though the setting was a bit surreal. The friendly conversation turned at one point to ghosts, and it seems that the buildings that house SCOLA have had a few specters, although they have been chased away. The main building was once the County’s indigent home, and stood empty for years before the city sold the property to SCOLA.
My excitement about SCOLA and its possibilities to further language learning, as one might imagine, has only grown from this experience. UNO’s partnership with SCOLA reminds me of all the good libraries can do. In UNO’s case, the Language Learning Center does an amazing job of supporting and supplementing UNO’s language curriculum, and exposes students to current programming in languages they are learning. The Language Learning Center is not just for UNO students, though – anyone in the community can take advantage of the resource, and many do. Although something like UNO’s Language Learning Center is out of reach for a smaller library, SCOLA offers more affordable options as well. Libraries on a smaller budget can start with streaming video on any up to date Windows or Apple computer.
For more information on SCOLA, please visit their website at: http://www.scola.org.
Karin Dalziel is a Library Science Master’s student through the University of Missouri-Columbia and works at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Love Library.