These exemplary resources and innovations will only succeed in the hands of the populations they intend to serve. Jo Anne Romero Huerta, representing the Dallas Public Library, leverages social media to “send out regular tweets for #DPLStaffReads geared toward Hispanics and Spanish speakers.” Services like this bring in many new people who did not know about the library, according to Jimmy Tokeshi, Principal Public Relations Representative. New York City librarians Adriana Blancarte-Hayward and Libbhy Romero gush about public libraries as places where “everyone can feel at home, and enjoy welcoming spaces filled with information that help all New Yorkers, native or foreign-born, to live, work, and thrive in New York City.” Seattle Public Libraries’ Helen Gutierrez and Rachel Martin’s collections teams “enhance and supplement already existing Spanish collections with e-audio books, e-books, and fotonovelas.” Each of the seventy-three Los Angeles libraries feature a New Americans Welcome Station, and six New Americans Centers have been opened to provide access to professional, qualified experts in citizenship and immigrant rights. How are our Spanish-speaking patrons assessed and served? How do librarians close gaps between the native and second-language speaker? What are the greatest challenges librarians face in providing books in Spanish? They unanimously agree that the local library provides sanctuary and transparency to the many Spanish speakers who seek out these safe spaces in new worlds. Librarians interviewed for this article share their most valued and creative strategies for reaching the Hispanic reader. In this special section, “Information Literacy and the Hispanic Community: Publishers and Librarians Shine Pathways for Spanish-Speaking Readers,” Alex Manuel Pérez, a life-long learner and 25-year veteran serving the needs of second language learners and high-risk college students, explores the ambitions and challenges of publishers and librarians who serve Hispanic patrons.
Librarians and the publishers who serve them are at the forefront of creating intuitive pathways to Spanish language and/or bilingual resources. has 41 million native speakers and 11 million who are bilingual. Yet, even with publishers making more Spanish books readily available, how are librarians assessing community needs, enhancing their Spanish and bilingual collections, and making them accessible?Īccording to Instituto Cervantes, “the United States is the world’s second largest Spanish-speaking country after Mexico.” The U.S. Publishing companies are making great strides at offering diverse choices to the Spanish-speaking community. Hispanics, curious about services offered for Spanish speakers, seek public libraries for paths to citizenship, assistance with employment and housing, and of course to ask, “❽onde están los libros en español?” Hispanic or otherwise, the librarian’s ability to connect with high-needs patrons is paramount to illuminating their path to information literacy. Publishers and Librarians Shine Pathways for Spanish-Speaking Readers
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