Mutualistic symbiosis or mutualism, is one of three types of symbiosis observed in the natural world and describes a relationship that is mutually beneficial to both organisms.  An example would be the trophic mutualism between certain plants and ant colonies.  The plant supplies a nectar resource and the ants defend the plant from grazing animals.

An analogous symbiosis exists between students of other languages and libraries.  Libraries offer a wealth of authentic materials for students of other languages to study and use.  The very act of interacting with these materials can increase students’ language proficiency thus allowing for even deeper and broader penetration of a library’s collection.

Thus, the Stanford Digital Language Lab is as much a library outreach effort as it is a traditional library resource because it is in any library’s best interest to have patrons who have real proficiency in the world’s natural languages.