As a student in the US, you can easily go your whole academic career without having to use a information source in a language other than English or written by someone affiliated with a institution in a non-western country. This type of information privilege is due to the bias in academic publishing that caters to English-speaking and western countries. While it seems helpful to you at first, it severely limits what information you can access and you could be missing important breakthroughs, viewpoints, and context. Knowing how to find non-English information resources is also an important skill for people who are learning a different language. If you plan to study or work aboard, you will need to be able to do research in your target language.
One way we as researchers can address this issue is to try to find sources from non-western countries or in languages other than English and incorporate these sources into our research. This guide serves as a starting point for learning the skills that are required to find and use bibliodiverse materials in your research.
Start by learning about the theoretical and contextual background to the concept of Practical Bibliodiversity in the "What is Practical Bibliodiversity?".
Then look at the tutorials for finding resources by languages or by country in the "How to find resources by Language" and the "Finding Resources by Country" tabs. Pay close attention to the "Transliteration Searching" page!
Once you have the skills down, explore the "Resources" page to find general and specific resources that can help you diversify your research. Most of the resources listed in that section are Open Access, so you can access them even if you are not currently affiliated with Grinnell College
When you have found resources you would like to use but are not in a language that you understand, use the "Using materials in languages that you do not speak" page for information on how to incorporate these resources into your research.
