Lake County clerk's Web site delivers in 50 languages

Lake County Clerk Willard Helander doesn't speak Maltese, but if a native of the Mediterranean island were in need of information, she could help.

Or technically, they could help themselves, via a new translation tool on her Web site, www.lakecountyclerk.info.

At the click of a pull down menu, the Maltese visitor would learn: "Hija l-missjoni ta 'l-uffiju tal-Iskrivan li jipprovdu servizz fil-pront, b'korteija u jkunu jafu lill-klijenti kollha taghna ..."

It means the clerk's office strives to provide prompt, courteous and knowledgeable service to all customers.

And that's the point, Helander said, of adding Google Translate, a free service that allows non-English speakers to browse in 50 languages.

Helander said she noticed a need as birth, death and marriage forms were translated for visitors to her Waukegan office.

"We saw many people could speak some English but couldn't understand it," she said. When a staffer mentioned the translation tool, it was incorporated as part of an in-house Web redesign.

While it is not a literal translation, it gives Web visitors the gist of what they are looking for.

There were some bugs. The first version did not allow visitors to return to English from the translated copy without leaving the Web site.

That annoyance was corrected and the translation tool went live about two weeks ago. It applies to all information on the Web site, which covers a considerable amount of ground including vital records, election information and other subjects.

"Our goal is to get people information and answer their questions," Helander said.

Testing is still being done to determine how much use the tool is getting. Helander said other site changes since the last election in April also make it easier and more user-friendly for voters and candidates.

"The content is very similar. The ability to find it quickly is very different," she said.

Voters, for example, can arrange online to select which elections they want to vote in and have ballots mailed to their homes or other locations at the appropriate time. Same for students.

All municipal sign ordinances also are posted.

"We want all of our candidates to be good citizens and abide by municipal regulations," she added.