"Connecting with the Spanish-Speaking Community": A Professional Development Opportunity for Library Staff

The Latino community is the fastest growing demographic in the United States.  This growth is particularly noticeable in some areas, such as the South.  Libraries and librarians who are noticing growth in their Latino and Spanish-speaking communities may face a number of challenges in their work to provide quality outreach and services, particularly if they have limited or no bilingual/bicultural staff.  I have designed a 4-week, online course offered by the Library of Virginia that addresses such challenges and helps library staff learn how to overcome them.  The next session of the course begins October 1, and all of the information for registration is provided below.  I hope you will consider participating!  State agencies and other organizations interested in offering this course to their staff can contact me directly.

Connecting with Spanish-Speaking Communities

Taught by: Katie Cunningham

Cost: $25.00 for people in Virginia and $70.00 for people outside of Virginia

Offered: October 1 - 26, 2012

Course Overview: Through this 4 week online course, participants will increase their knowledge of the general library needs of Spanish-speaking communities and will develop strategies, resources and confidence they can use to reach out to this community and connect them with library services. Small groups will work together to develop an Outreach Plan for a library. The required reading, Serving Latino Communities, by Camila Alire and Jacqueline Ayala will be provided.

Prerequisite: The free online course Introduction to Moodle, which will be offered beginning September 10, 2012 and must be completed by September 26, 2012. When you sign up for this course you will automatically be signed up for Introduction to Moodle.

Instructor: Katie Cunningham has been serving Latinos and Spanish-speakers since she began working in libraries in 2005. Katie was a participant in the Webjunction Spanish Language Outreach (SLO) training program in 2007, and her work serving Spanish-speakers was recognized by Webjunction as the best outreach project by an SLO participant in 2008. She has designed numerous presentations to aid librarians and teachers serving Latinos and Spanish-speaking families. Katie is an active member of Reforma – The National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and Spanish-Speakers – serving on the Children and Young Adult Services Committee and as the 2012-13 President of the Southeast Chapter.  Katie is also an ALSC appointee to the 2013 Pura Belpré committee.  Katie now works as an independent training specialist and library consultant.  She regularly shares bilingual programming ideas, suggested books and storytelling resources on her blog " Es divertido hablar dos idiomas" available online at http://bilingualchildrensprogramming.blogspot.com/. 

Registration for this course is open.  We do require payment at the time of registration. We accept Visa and MasterCard.

For more information and a link to register for this course please contact: Enid Costleyenid.costley@lva.virginia.gov or 804.692.3765 or go to http://host5.evanced.info/lva/evanced/eventcalendar.asp and change the month to October and click on the course.

Para los Niños - A resource to know for bilingual storytime!

As part of the "Growing Up Bilingual" workshop at the Reforma National Conference IV, I was introduced to the "Para los Niños" program.  This is too great a resource to keep to myself!  The program was developed by the Children's Museum of Houston.  Tiffany Fontenot of CMH and Freda Mosquera, who has implemented the program at Broward County Library in Florida, gave us an in depth demonstration.  The great thing about this program is that all of the materials are available to download and use in English and Spanish.  Also, all of the materials needed for the learning activities are very cheap, making the activities easy for families to replicate at home.

So what is "Para los Niños"?  It is a family learning program developed for Spanish-speaking families, though available in English as well.  There are 8 workshop themes, such as "Math at Home," "Raise a Reader" and "Self-Esteem."  Each theme has at least 5 activities that accompany it, and most of the activities tie back to picture book that the families can share together.  There are multiple ways that this program could be implemented.  For example, Freda Mosquera shared how her library offered these workshops at a community center that served many Spanish-speaking families.  The course of the program was 8 weeks, one theme each week.  The programs would start with a storytime for the families, and then the families could work together on each of activity stations.  I plan to implement parts of this program into my Bilingual Family Storytime program, setting up two to three activity stations each month for families to explore together following our stories and songs.

So go check this program out!  Do you know of other great ready-to-use resources for bilingual storytimes?  Share them with us here!

McConnell 2011!

What a great McConnell Conference the UK School of Library and Information Science put together this year!  Sharon Draper lifted our spirits with her amazing energy, Rafael López shared his dazzling colors and artistic process, and Matt de la Peña illuminated and inspired with his own personal story.  It was truly an honor and a joy to present at this conference.

I was thrilled by the questions and ideas shared during both of my sessions.  Here are some of the ideas that participants shared that they were planning to take back to their libraries.  I have added some of my own comments to these in asterisks:

• Start planning a Día celebration for the first time.  *LOTS of folks said this, which is wonderful!  Don't forget that Reforma Southeast is accepting applications for two mini-grants for folks planning Día programs.*
• Access websites for Survival Spanish and translations of library policies.
• Contact services in my county that serve Latinos to ask about the materials they need, the programs they would participate in, and ways to reach Latinos in my community.  *This is great!*
• I am an elementary school librarian.  I can contact the local public library to collaborate with them to build a stronger Latino program in my school.
• Staff training about using folktales as part of programming to Latino communities.  *Conejito by Margaret Read MacDonald and Martina, the Beautiful Cockroach by Carmen Agra Deedy are two great books to start with.  The Bossy Gallito by Lucia Gonzalez also makes a great flannel story!*
• Check out Webjunction resources and share them with others at my library.  *Consider their Spanish Language Outreach training, which is available online.*
• Welcome Latino families into our school with warmth and a smile.  *I LOVE this one!*
• Start homework help if possible - helps total constituency.  *Great point!*
• Add more multicultural / bilingual books to storytime.
• Contact with Spanish liaison at school to schedule a library tour for local Latino families.  *Fantastic idea!*
• Start a Noche de Cuentos evening program.
• Purchase more bilingual books.
• Have high school students taking Spanish do bilingual storytelling, giving them volunteer hours and giving the children role models.  *Love this idea!  There are lots of great books and stories out there that incorporate little bits of Spanish into English text.  This might be a great place to start, so that it is not too overwhelming for the high schoolers.  I recommend Susan Middleton Elya and Ann Whitford Paul to get you started.*

Mil gracias to everyone who attended my sessions at the McConnell for sharing these ideas.  Keep us posted with how things are going for you by leaving a comment or sending me an email.  Also, if you have any questions along the way, please know that I am always happy to help.  You aren't alone!  Reforma Southeast is here for you too!

Serving Latino Children and Families in Kentucky Libraries

On February 25 and 26, 2011, I will be sharing this presentation at the McConnell Conference in Lexington, KY.  By clicking below, you can access the entire PowerPoint.  The two accompaning handouts are also available at http://www.slideshare.net/KatieCunningham, as well as past presentations.

Serving Latino Children and Families in Kentucky Libraries

View more presentations from Katie Cunningham.

Virginia Hamilton Conference Follow Up

What an honor it was to present last week at the 26th annual Virginia Hamilton Conference on Multicultural Literature for Youth at Kent State University!  The authors were moving, the artists fascinating, and the breakout sessions highly relevant to today's librarians and teachers serving increasingly diverse communities.  My greatest take-aways are from Laurie Halse Anderson to STOP being too nice and fight back when schools and governments slash library funding, and from Ken and Sylvia Marantz that the "picturebook" is its own art form and not merely a book of pictures (picture book).

I was thrilled to present my session on Bilingual Storytime to a group of interested individuals on Friday, including a group of international scholars from Egypt and Brazil.  You all asked some great questions!  A few of your questions have stayed in my mind, and so I am going to share them here over the next several days, along with more complete answers.

During the presentation, I commented that there are many reasons for establishing a bilingual storytime program, including to reach out to the Latino population in the community.  However, bilingual storytime should not be the first step in an organization's outreach effort.  If the Latino community is not using your library, the reason is not because you don't have a Spanish or bilingual storytime.  In response to this, I was asked: What are the first steps for a library wanting to reach out to the Latino community?  

In my opinion, the first step is to get outside of the library and get to know the community.  Find one key person who can help you connect with others; this first key person may not be Latino him/herself, but will be more deeply involved in working with the community.  Places to look are local Hispanic/Latino organizations, churches, ESL teachers, other agencies working with the Latino community, the local Spanish or bilingual newspaper and local businesses catering to Latinos.  Be prepared to ask these key folks what you want to know: why doesn't the Latino community currently use the library?  Then, be prepared to respond to what they share with you by making the changes you can to make your library and its services more accessible and relevant.  To accomplish this, you need buy in and support from the upper levels of administration and leadership in your organization, which can be tricky to gain.  Even well-meaning administrators may not have a clear understanding of how to serve the Latino community.  Find an ally with authority in your organization from the beginning, and bring them along with you as much as possible.  Try to encourage the people in charge at your organization to come with you, so they are part of meeting key leaders and hearing directly how the library can improve.  This will have more impact then your words alone.  Outreach needs differ depending on many variables, such as the experience of the community you are trying to reach, the perspectives and commitment of your administration to serving the community, the work your organization has already done to reach the community, and the staff, services and programs you have to offer.

There are many resources out there that can help you in your outreach process.  I recommend the following for getting started:

Crash Course in Serving Spanish Speakers by Salvador Avila.  There are many great book resources out there on library services to Latinos and the Spanish-speaking, but I have found this to be the most straightforward, simple and practical for getting started.

Webjunction's Spanish Language Outreach Course.  Available to take online at your own pace for $20.  This course will provide an overview on what is means to do outreach to your Spanish-speaking community and provide a highly functional framework for doing so.  If you are reaching out to Latinos in your community and can encourage someone in your administration to take this course as well, it may help them to understand what you are doing and why.

"Latinos and Public Library Perceptions."  This study was conducted by Webjunction and the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute.  It is a major research project that surveyed over 2,000 Latinos from across the country on their library use and perceptions.  This is a very eye opening study, and it can reveal what are the most important factors your organization should focus on as you approach your outreach.

And of course, join REFORMA - the National Organization to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking.  The listserv is active and the people involved do an excellent job at sharing resources and ideas.

Latinos are already the largest minority in the USA and the fastest growing.  Serving Latinos in no longer "optional" or "extra" for libraries - it is essential for remaining relevant to your community!  Those who do not start reaching out and cultivating staff who can effectively serve this community will find themselves in a situation of playing a lot of catch-up down the road.  Buena suerte as you initiate an outreach project and do the necessary work to make your organization inclusive in all ways of the Latinos and Spanish-speakers you serve.

Bilingual Storytime at Your Biblioteca: What, Why and How

Here is the presentation along with supplementary handouts for next week's presentation at the Virginia Hamilton Conference on Multicultural Literature for Youth. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or thoughts to share.

Bilingual Storytime At Your Biblioteca

View more presentations from KatieCunningham.

A tiny bit of shameless self-promotion...

I have to share that I am extremely pleased and excited to see that my recent "Listos para Leer" (Ready to Read in Spanish) presentation at Centro Esperanza Latina made the news! La Jornada Latina ran an article about it in their most recent issue, free on newstands now.

This event was easily one of the coolest things I've gotten to do in my job, thus far. We held two presentations, both of which were extremely well attended. All in all, we were able to make a library connection, deliver early literacy information, and provide kits filled early literacy tools such as board books and maracas to over 50 Spanish-speaking families! I have to admit that I was terrified, as this was the biggest presentation I have yet done in Spanish! Things went great however, and I had a lot of help from my colleagues Melinda Moreno, Michelle Garver, and Joy Converse. I am very grateful to the United Way for the grant that is funding such "Listos para Leer" presentations, to the Director of the Centro Esperanza Latina, Ms. Gianella Martinez for all of her help in coordinating this event, and to Ms. Patricia Ruiz for sharing our story through this article. I'm posting a copy of it below for those of you who read Spanish:


Imparten taller “Listos para leer”
PATRICIA RUIZ

La biblioteca metropolitana de Columbus, en colaboración con Action for Children, desarrolló durante los días 23 y 25 de febrero de 2009, en el Centro Esperanza Latina, el taller programa para padres “Todos los niños listos para leer”. A estos talleres gratuitos asistieron numerosos padres de familia de la comunidad, quienes recibieron información sobre cómo preparar el niño para el kinder y qué actividades debe realizar el padre en la casa para que el niño se inicie en el hábito de la lectura. Los participantes recibieron un maletín con libros en español, un abecedario magnético, marionetas y otros elementos útiles para que el niño desarrolle el amor por la lectura y la escritura.

El paquete también incluía una solicitud para obtener la tarjeta de membresía de la biblioteca para los menores de 17 años de edad, la cual es expedida totalmente gratis.

Meaningful Programming for Immigrant Populations

On Wednesday, October 1, Sophie Maier of the Louisville Free Public Library and Betty Abdimishani, Rebecca Montano-Smith, and Brian Hocevar of the Lexington Public Library Village Branch presented a session at the Spectrum of the Future, National Diversity in Libraries conference titled "Successful and Meaningful Services for Your Immigrant Populations." As the Louisville area has seen a tremendous growth in immigrants from various parts of the world (Africa, Latin America, and most recently, Iraq), and the Village branch in Lexington is comprised completely of bilingual staff serving a largely Hispanic neighborhood, these presenters were well experienced with working with a diverse community and finding creative ways to meet their needs at the library.

Sophie shared that there is a very active refugee resettlement agency in Louisville, so the immigrant groups coming to settle there are often changing based on what is transpiring in the world at large. This makes clear how important it is to conitinually be assessing who makes up the community one is serving, what their needs are, and how they have changed to know how the library needs to adapt. How does LFPL do this? Sophie visits this agency's ESOL classes weekly to sign newcomers up for library cards and to introduce them to library services. In addition, she is constantly making contact with local cultural organizations share what the library has to offer. Some of the programs created specifically for the immigrant population in Louisville include the English Conversation Club (a place for English learners to practice their skills with native English speakers), and the Bilingual Cafe (Spanish learners and English learners both practice the language they are learning with native speakers). How does she make this work? Well,

• volunteers participate in both conversation groups, including interns from the local University Latin American studies department and international student groups
• prompts are provided for those who need something to get them starting speaking together
• kids are included, as child care can be a barrier blocking participation
• food, Food, FOOD!

Another cool thing they are doing at LFPL are cultural showcases, in which they invite members of a community to come present elements of their culture (such as dance, traditional dress, food, etc.) for the community at large. Sophie did point out, however, that this can be tricky. The library has found that they have approached some immigrant groups too soon and have found such a showcase to be very difficult for them. They have also found that there can be various perspectives and viewpoints within a culture which can lead to tension when they discuss that culture with the rest of the community. Other programs LFPL has put on for their community include a French Conversation Circle (specifically for African people who speak French), a Spanish Literary Salon, and a Qinceanera program.
The staff from Village branch of the Lexington Public Library, I must say, are some of the most dedicated and passionate individuals I have met in this field (I will be blogging about my experience at Village more later). In this session, they pointed out that for something like what they are doing there to work (completely bilingual staff and collection), they need the will and commitment of their institution to serving the Hispanic/Latino population. They pointed out that it is important to take risks; don't let perfect be the enemy of good! Maybe you'll try something that is a complete flop...this is the risk the institution must be willing to take to determine what will work! They emphasized the importance of all staff being friendly and approachable, making the extra effort to greet all customers as they walk in the door. Think about it in context: for most of us, the library by its very nature is a warm and welcoming place. For those who are not used to libraries in their own countries, the library is a place filled with uncertainty (what is this? who is it for? how does it work? am I allowed to be here?) and this makes it scary.
The programming the Village branch has developed for their community demonstrates what successful partnerships with community organizations can accomplish. For example, the local schools found that Hispanic parents were not attending parent/teacher conferences, so the library suggested that the teachers come to the library for conferences. Guess what...the parents came! They could walk to the library and felt safe there, and showed up in mass to learn how their kids were doing in school and how they could help them do better. Village also secured a grant for programming to help immigrants assimilate to life in the US and to prevent gang violence. They formed a variety of programs for teens with this grant, including an aikido class! Additionally, they bring speakers in from a variety of community organizations to provide "How to..." training for immigrants. Some speakers include bank representatives, officials from the Mexican consulate, and local police. What is the result of this? When the Village community needs information or wants entertainment, they go to the library to find it. Village is the only library I have ever seen that has actually accomplished becoming the Third Place.
How does this apply to CML:

• What is the vision for services to immigrants in Columbus? What is the city's vision and how does the library fit into it?
• We should be making contact with our local Refugee and Immigrant services organization to get a grasp of what the immigrant groups here need and how the library can contribute.
• People want to learn English...what are we doing to meet this? English conversation groups require little to get off the ground and basically come to run themselves...
• Would love to do some type of cultural showcase. Any branch doing anything like this?
• Bringing in community representatives to talk to immigrants about how to assimilate (get a bank account, fill out school paperwork, etc.) is brilliant!!!! Are we even thinking about programming for adult communities anymore? Certainly, helping immigrants learn about the ins-and-outs of living in the US has an impact on young minds...

National Diversity Conference - Details coming soon!

This past week I had the privilege to attend the National Diversity in Libraries conference in Louisville, KY (a million thanks Todd and Martha for agreeing to send me to this event!). I am coming back inspired and recharged, and my eyes have been opened to issues I was not quite in tune with, looking at the world through my own limited POV.

I have a lot of great information to share from this conference and it will be coming in bits and pieces. Blogging is not hard, it is just sometimes hard to find the time to keep up with it! So instead of laying everything out in one post, I'll be adding smaller posts about specific sessions. I feel the knowledge and networking gained at this conference will help me not only as a Spanish programmer, but also in my work on the CML Diversity Committee and the OLC Diversity Awareness and Resources committee.

I will share with you now the most brilliant and provacative thing I heard at the conference. Jose Aponte shared how his library system partnered with the San Diego health department to address two critical issues in the Latino community in San Diego: a lack of books and poor health conditions. How did they fight these problems to uplift the community? The library purchased a vehicle similar to the type of truck used for taquerias (mobile Mexican fast food restuarants) and turned it in to a bookmobile. They took this bookmobile out into the Latino communities equipped with bilingual staff and a clinic nurse! Let me say that again: they brought books and a nurse to the community on a familiar-looking (trustable) vehicle, with bilingual staffing!!!! This is an incredible and creative effort to truly change the lives of the community, and proof that this library knows their community and is invested in making an impact there!

Applying this to my position, I realize how much work I have to do. What are the needs of the Latino community in Columbus? What about in Whitehall specifically? How can CML creatively partner with other organizations serving the Latino community to avoid a duplication of effort and accomplish more with less?

Successful Outreach is Key!

Those working with Spanish-speaking communities may find that library service is not necessarily an "if you build it, they will come" situation. Just because a library develops a Spanish language collection or begins offering a bilingual storytime, it will not necessarily result in increased library use by the Spanish-speaking population. You know they are out there, you have services for them, but they still aren't using the library. What should you do?

The answer to that question is outreach! There are a variety of great resources available which discuss the necessity and benefits of library outreach to Spanish-speaking communities. To sum up a key point, public library services as we offer them in the United States are not the norm in Central and South America. It could very well be possible that your Spanish-speaking community is not using the library because they simply do not know that they can, or how to, or why they should. It is up to YOU to spread the word!

I would like to share two successful outreach endeavors which I recently engaged in, in order to promote library services to residents of the Whitehall, OH Spanish-speaking community. It is my hope that these endeavors could serve as a case study and be replicated by other libraries struggling to connect with their Spanish-speaking residents.

Partnering with an ESL teacher
During the summer of 2007 I was fortunate enough to meet Stella Villaba, an ESL teacher for the Whitehall City School District. Stella is a passionate teacher and an avid library supporter. When I first met her, she was very happy to distribute information in Spanish about the library to her students and her families. Later during the school year she approached me about putting together some type of presentation for the families of her students. She was finding that they often did not know about the variety of services available through the library, such as the Homework Help Centers and the Fresh Start program, which allows customers to read-off their fines twice a year. We decided to develop a Library Orientation and Tour. On May 11, 2008 we welcomed about 35 people to the library for a bilingual presentation which explained the basic details of how to use the library and what types of services the library has to offer. It was a huge success, which wrapped up with participants taking a tour of the library and with some getting new library cards!
This particular strategy could be replicated anywhere to bring in immigrant families who may not be aware of the library. If you are not bilingual and the language barrier is an issue, perhaps a local teacher or volunteer would be willing to translate in order to present the information bilingually. Even without the tour, making contact with local ESL teachers to let them know what services the library has to offer to support their services will likely result in that information being spread to families.


Visiting an adult ESL class
Rather coincidentally, the same week we put together the library tour, a local adult ESL teacher contacted the Whitehall library to come speak to the children of the students about Summer Reading Club. Throughout the course of this conversation it was discovered that the entire ESL class was Spanish-speaking. When the teacher learned that a Spanish-speaker was available to come talk with the students about the library she was ecstatic! The following Monday, May 13, we gave the same presentation at the adult ESL class which meets at a local church. The group of about 25 was delightful to work with. I was amazed how many questions they had which I was able to answer. The group was very enthusiastic about the library, and it has since been arranged that our Bookmobile will visit the church before the ESL class each week this summer!

At my library, due to a lack of Spanish-speaking staff, we are following a model of Spanish customer service which ALA President Dr. Camila Alire describes in her book Serving Latino Communities: A how-to-do-it manual for librarians. I have a standard shift that I work to provide customer service in different branches once a week. I saw the impact of this outreach the very next Wednesday when I was working my weekly shift in Whitehall; seven people from the presentation at the ESL class came to the library!

So get out of the building and spread the word, or find creative partnerships to invite people in! Be proactive about letting potential customers know what you have to offer them and you are likely to see them take you up on it!