On our shelves, we have  books, magazines, DVDs and some newspapers in a wide range of languages.

These language collections are shelved separately from the English language collection and include adult fiction and non-fiction (factual information), junior fiction and non-fiction and picture books.

To help you, each item has a short code on the spine to show which language it is in and children's books are also marked with a 'J'.

 ARA – Arabic 
 BEN - Bengali
 CHI – Chinese
 GRE – Greek  
 KOR – Korean
 VIE - Vietnamese

Each library has a slightly different collection and some specialise in particular languages. You can also check our library catalogue, call us or ask a librarian where to find the language you are looking for.

More Languages

Can't find your language on the  shelves of your local library? Ask a staff member or call us on 9789 9423 as books in your language may be available at another branch.

We can borrow books in an even wider range of languages from the State Library of NSW. The poster to the left shows just some of the  languages in which we can obtain books.  Please ask at your local library for more information. This is a free service.

Read online at any time!

In our eLibrary, you will find even more reading options, including content in Chinese, Arabic, Greek, Bengali, Vietnamese, French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Romanian.

You will find fiction in other languages in Libby and Indyreads, and for Chinese Readers, DragonSource 龙源电子期刊杂志, includes more than 2000 popular magazines and journals. And for kids we offer LOTE online, featuring  stories in various languages, which you can watch both in your own language and in English to help develop reading and listening skills.

You can also watch movies and documentaries on Beamafilm, which has content in multiple languages for both adults and kids.

Want to know more? 

Call us on 9789 9423  and ask for more information, or to request books in a specific language. Or contact us using our online form.