Presented by Robert Clark MP		www.robertclark.net

LOTE resources on the Internet

Different linguistic communities will be able to access the Internet in their own language under a project launched by the Minister Assisting the Premier on Multicultural Affairs, Phil Honeywood.

The State Public Libraries Language Other Than English (LOTE) project helps deliver information to people of diverse backgrounds via the world’s biggest educational and recreational vehicle, the Internet.

The project will allow users to access information from around the world as well as learn about where to access information in languages other than English in Victoria.

The websites will be administered by the State Library of Victoria.

The first website, the Directory and Searchable Database of LOTE in Victorian Public Libraries can be found at http://cf.vicnet.net.au/lote/.

The website includes directories of all Victorian public libraries with known LOTE holdings, sample of books, publications, CDs, videos and a list of ethnic community libraries.

The second site, Open Road, is a gateway to news, sport, family services and culture and has instructions on how to use the site in languages including Greek, Russian, Arabic, Turkish, Chinese and Vietnamese. It can be found at www.vicnet.net.au/~openroad/.

Open Road is to be expanded to accommodate more languages and may be incorporated into the larger Online Multicultural Australia project to be launched later this year.

(News Release, Office of the Minister Assisting the Premier on Multicultural Affairs, May 21, 1999)