Developing Hispanic Library Collections

1. Developing HispanicLibrary Collections Developed by Dr. Barry M. Bishop University of Houston-Clear Lake Adjunct

2. Objectives • At the end of this module, the participant will have an awareness of • SELECTION strategies for developing Hispanic collections • RESOURCES from which to order Hispanic materials • RECOMMENDATIONS for some classics to have in your collection

3. Selection Questions • What criteria do you use to develop any collection? • How do you decide what to purchase?

4. Selection 1 • Good criteria for developing any collection should also be applied to your Hispanic collection. • You decide what to purchase for your Hispanic patrons the same as any other patrons—you listen to their needs, ask clarifying questions, and try to purchase what meets their needs.

5. Selection 2 • When trying to match Hispanics’ needs to the resources of the Library, in addition to all considerations given to any patron, also consider: • Culture • And Language

6. Selection 3 • The three C’s • Curriculum – know what curriculum you support • Collection – know what already exists in your collection • Community – know what your community wants (including asking your Hispanic students)

7. Selection 4 • ALA Guidelines for Library Services to Hispanics • “The members of these [Hispanic] communities have diverse needs and are entitled to access to materials diverse enough to meet those needs.” • http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=specialpop&template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=10623.

8. Selection 5 • Recent immigrants have unique needs: • Need for information to survive and assimilate into American life (not culture). • Learning about English, food, housing, medical services, education, jobs, transportation, legal matters, immigration policy, undocumented aliens, naturalization, refugee status, guest worker programs, and citizenship. • As time passes for immigrants their interests tend to turn to self-help, practical, to-do books on any topic.

9. Selection 6 • Hispanics desire to maintain contact with their literary culture. • Mexico sales for comic books are among the highest in the world. Some immigrants from Mexico lack literacy in Spanish. The desire for comic books or fotonovelas indicates a desire to read at whatever level of literacy one possesses.

10. Selection 7 • Serving the Hispanic community requires plenty of time and lots of face-to-face at local events outside the library. • (Librarians interested in learning more about how best to serve Spanish-speaking populations on- or offline should read "The Best Little Library in Texas," SLJ 1/01, about the Terrazas Branch.)

11. Selection 8 • Materials for Hispanics come in two basic types: • Original Spanish Language materials • Translations from English • Original Spanish Language authors may be from Spanish speaking countries or Spanish Speakers from the US. • Often, the translator is as critical or more so as the original author.

12. Selection 9 • If starting or revising a neglected Hispanic Materials collection, consider using the State Library CREW Manual • CREW helps Librarians weed the collection in a systematic incremental manner • Purchasing materials in the same sections of the collection that are being recommended for weeding makes the task manageable and keeps the Library balanced

13. Resources Questions • Where do you start? • How do you start?

14. Resources 1 • Read this article: • Kirkham, Aileen. “A Bilingual Library and Programming: Help! I'm Not Bilingual.” Library Media Connection Jan 2003: Vol. 21 Issue 4, p42, 2p, 2c • If you have access to EBSCO use this link: • http://search.epnet.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=tfh&an=8987748

15. Resources 2 • Taking a Spanish course is helpful, even if it's just listening to recordings during your work commute • Getting involved with other groups that provide services to your patrons

16. Resources 3 • Also consider getting involved in ALA-affiliate REFORMA, the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking (www.reforma.org), which has many local chapters throughout the United States. • Be sure to check online resources such as Spanish in Our Libraries (www.sol-plus.net), which offers a discussion list and links to Spanish-language versions of sample library policies, flyers, and instruction, as well as a "survival Spanish" guidebook for library workers.

17. Resources 4 • Seek collection analysis from various vendors (Follett, Makin, Sagebrush, etc…) • Attend the Guadalajara Book Fair (www.fil.com.mx/ingles/i_index.asp). There are support opportunities available to those who apply early: The ALA-FIL Free Pass Program, for example, provides travel and registration assistance for librarians who work in the area of Spanish-language acquisitions and/or are working to build their collections (AL, May 2004, p. 11).

18. Resources 5 • http://lcweb2.loc.gov/hlas/mdbquery.html • The Handbook is a bibliography on Latin America consisting of works selected and annotated by scholars. Edited by the Hispanic Division of the Library of Congress. • http://lanic.utexas.edu/project/arl/ • The Latin Americanist Research Resources Partnership is a cooperative initiative of North American, Latin American, and Caribbean libraries that seek to improve access to the array of research resources published in Latin America. • http://www.lib.unc.edu/cdd/crs/international/latin/pathfinder/latin_american_pathfinder.html • Pathfinder for Latin American Reference Sources

19. Resources 6 • Good selection resources: • http://www.spanishbooksinprint.com/bip/default.asp?path=/bip/default.asp&path=/bip/default.asp&path=/bip/Default.asp&& • http://www.libraryjournal.com/index.asp?layout=criticas • http://www.reformamn.org/collectiondevelopment.html

20. Resources 7 • Book Reviews (specifically for Hispanic materials): • Barahona Center for the Study of Books in Spanish for Children and Adolescents: http://www.csusm.edu/csb/ • Multicultural Book Review: http://www.isomedia.com/homes/jmele/homepage.html

21. Resources 8 • Book Reviews (general): • Booklist: http://www.ala.org/template.cfm?Section=booklist • The Bulletin of the Centre for Children’s Books http://www.lis.uiuc.edu/puboff/bccb/ • Horn Book: http://www.hbook.com/ • School Library Journal: http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/

22. Resources 9 Finally, mark your calendar for the Joint Conference of Librarians of Color, to be held in Dallas October 11-15, 2006. ALA's caucuses of color--Reforma, the Black Caucus of the ALA, the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association, and the American Indian Library Association--will all join together in this first-ever event, which promises to be an excellent opportunity for those serving diverse library users.

23. Recommendations, Questions • What are the Hispanic materials that no Library should be without? • Are there Hispanic classics just as there are American (USA) or British classics?

24. Recommendations 2 • The Texas State Library’s summer reading program http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/ld/projects/trc/2005/index.html • Dia de los ninos / Dia de los libros http://www.main.org/ninos/ • Lots of links from the renowned Chico HS web site http://dewey.chs.chico.k12.ca.us/lat.html • PLCMC's StoryPlace (The Children’s Digital Library) http://www.storyplace.org • Four Cats recommendations - http://cuatrogatos.org/

25. Recommendations 3 • The Library of Congress http://www.loc.gov/rr/hispanic/ • The American Library Association http://www.ala.org/ala/alsc/alscresources/booklists/GrowingUpLatino.htm

26. Recommendations 4 • Yokota, Junko, ed., and others. Kaleidoscope: A Multicultural Booklist for Grades K-8. 3rd ed. Urbana, Ill.: National Council of Teachers of English, 2001. ISBN 0-8141-2540-9 • Descriptions of almost 600 nonfiction and fiction books focusing on African Americans, Asian Americans, Latinos/Hispanic Americans and Native Americans. The editor has provided a handy list of publisher addresses, and author, title, and subject indexes make it easy to locate specific books or hunt for texts on a particular theme or topic. Grades K-8

27. Recommendations 5 • York, Sherry, The Hispanic heritage in novels, short stories & nonfiction. Book Report; Jan/Feb94, Vol. 12 Issue 4, p19, 5p • Persistent link (if you have access to EBSCO) to this record: http://search.epnet.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=tfh&an=9404141025 • The bibliographies, contained, are not intended to be definitive; rather, they should be viewed as a starting place. • The recommendations are categorized as to area of origin (Mexico, Latin America, Islands, etc…)

28. Recommendations 6 • Lists from Librarians who collaborated • Spring Branch Classroom Library Collections recommendations (each grade level list contains some Spanish titles) • Spring Branch Summer Reading Lists (contains Spanish title recommendations from Bilingual department) • Spring Branch recommended Spanish titles from a trip to the 18th International Guadalajara Book Fair in Mexico (Nov. 2004)

29. Recommendations 7 • Sources of Spanish Books (not complete) • Baker & TaylorSales Representative - Laurie JonesPhone: 800.775.7930 ext: 1003Fax: 713.660.7252Email: jonesl@btol.com

30. Recommendations 8 • Sources of Spanish Books (not complete) • Libros Sin FronterasBrodart Co., By: Nubro, Inc500 Arch StreetWilliamsport, PA 17705Barbara Janner5518 Blackjack Hou, TX 77088Ph# 281-445-4503 Ph# 800-233-8467Fax# 570-326-1479Email: janner@brodart.com

31. Recommendations 9 • Sources of Spanish Books (not complete) • iLeon (a division of Verticalibros, llc) (not sure about cataloging and processing)Reuben E. Katz935 Genter Street Suite 203La Jolla, CA 92037Phone: 858-688-6106Email: rkatz@verticalibros.com • Also can get books from: Lectorum, Lerner, and Rosen all who were at the Guadalajara Fair

32. Conclusion • Librarians are supposed to collaborate • Collaborate with your Bilingual Department • Show them your resources • It demonstrates your attempt to meet the needs of common clients • Sometimes they have money to help with your cause

33. References • Bishop, Barry. "Library Resources Page." Library Information Services. 29 Jun. 2005. Spring Branch Independent School district. 30 Jun. 2005 <http://library.springbranchisd.com/library-resources/>.

34. References • Cuesta, Yolanda J. "From Survival to Sophistication." Library Journal 15 May 1990: 115. :26- . EBSCO Professional Development Collection. Library Information Services. 11 Jun 2005 <http://search.epnet.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=tfh&an=9008131311>

35. References • Kirkham, Aileen. "A Bilingual Library and Programming: Help! I'm Not Bilingual." Library Media Connection January 2003: 21. :42- . EBSCO Professional Development Collection. 11 Jun 2005 <http://search.epnet.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=tfh&an=8987748>.

36. References • Minkel, Walter . "The Web en Espanol." Library Journal Spring 2001: 126. :36- . EBSCO Professional Development Collection. Library Information Services. 11 Jun 2005 <http://search.epnet.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=tfh&an=4341084>.

37. References • Topper, Elisa M. "Working knowledge: ?como puedo servirle? ." American Libraries Feb 2005: 50.

38. Congratulations! • The End