Spanish Language Outreach Activities Report for Coos County, Oregon

2008-09-28T19:58:51Z

Spanish Language Outreach Activities Report, Dianne Zarder with North Bend Public Library, Ellen Thompson of Coos Bay Public Library, and Celso Ledesma of Southwestern Oregon Community College, in Coos County Oregon, August 2008.

[As we're working as a team, Dianne is reporting for all 3 of us.]

We have produced and distributed a handout titled "English-Spanish/Ingles-Espanol Library Conversations," heavily based on documents found on the Public Libraries Using Spanish website and from an InfoPeople Project. To view the handout, go to http://wjbeta.webjunction.org/web/guest/spanish-for-staff/resources/wjarticles , click on Documents, and click on English-Spanish/Ingles-Spanish Library Conversations. Dianne spearheaded this project, with Ellen and Celso giving input, as well as Flavia Finn, the Bilingual Liaison at the college. We emailed the document to all of the public library directors and community college library director in the county for distribution to their staff and appropriate patrons, as well as to Flavia.

The team will meet again in 2 weeks, and then once a month to further progress on activities described below. On a volunteer basis, we will meet weekly, as schedules allow, to read through bilingual books together, to become more conversant in Spanish and improve our pronunciation, while Celso, whose first language is Spanish, will conversely improve his English. We're really looking forward to this activity, which will help us be more confident and proficient in serving the needs of our library patrons and marketing these services.

Ellen will make a list of DVDs originating in Spanish-speaking countries that are in the local libraries, and distribute it. Most of these DVDs will have English language subtitles and perhaps English audio as an option. Dianne will recommend purchase of some DVDs for the North Bend library that originate in Mexico or Central or South America, which are in Spanish but have English subtitles or audio option. She will look in particular for award-winners and those with good reviews, por supuesto.

Dianne will make a list of materials on English language specifically for Spanish speakers as well as English as a Second Language to distribute.

Dianne will also make a list of bilingual items at the North Bend library to distribute. She has found that though it is possible to find these items through a search of the online catalog, the use of the catalog and an advanced search is confusing for some patrons.

Celso will contact a few people that speak Spanish and English well, to the end of finding volunteers to assist Spanish-speaking patrons to get library cards and to assist in awareness and understanding of library services. These volunteers will be available at designated times at both public libraries so patrons will feel assured there will be someone available. Celso has recommended that this service be called "Atencion en Espanol" to indicate that there is someone available to attend to patrons' needs in Spanish. In the meanwhile, we'll record the day and time that we see people in the library whose first language is Spanish, to try to establish the best time for this service. An existing flyer publicizing library services to Spanish-speaking people in the community will be edited to include this service.

Celso has offered to serve as translator if we have a Spanish-speaking patron with whom we're having trouble communicating, by calling him at the college library.

Ellen will pursue the idea of a Family Story Night, at which stories from Mexico, Central and South America, and Spain will be read, and participants will be encouraged to share. A recommended story to include is the folktale, La Llorona. The stories picked would be of interest for the whole family. Efforts would be made to make the event be as bilingual as possible.

Celso has suggested, and Ellen and Dianne will try to implement, purchasing Books on CD in Spanish that match book titles we have in Spanish, particularly at the middle school to high school level. These CD and print titles do not have to be kept together, but would be useful to patrons trying to learn Spanish so that they can read along while they're listening. This service would fulfill a goal of improving the Spanish language skills of the general English-speaking public, and staff! Celso will also give information to Ellen about a motivational Spanish language Book on CD on excellence for purchase consideration.

When the above flyers and lists have been edited or created, Celso will distribute the flyer, conversation handout, and Spanish language lists mentioned above to pastors of churches in the area (at least 2 of which have Spanish-speaking pastors), to schools, and to gathering places of Spanish speakers in the community such as a Latino grocery store. We will also distribute these items in the libraries.