Serving Spanish-Language Patrons—A Q&A with Rose Treviño

by Adriana Domínguez -- Críticas, 10/15/2008

Rose Treviño is the Youth Services Coordinator for the Houston Public Library, one of the largest library systems in the country that serves one of the biggest Spanish-speaking populations in the country. She is an active member of the American Library Association (ALA), the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), the Texas Library Association (TLA), the Public Library Association (PLA), and REFORMA, the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking. Her work has great impact on library services provided to Latinos on both the local and national level. Currently chairing the Newbery Award Committee, Treviño is also a passionate advocate for Latino children’s literature.

Serving Spanish-Language Patrons—A Q&A With…
This is the second article in an occasional series exploring how public libraries across the country are serving their Spanish-speaking patrons. The first part was “A Q&A With Yolanda Bonitch,” an outreach librarian at New York Public Library.

Your library offers a number of innovative programs and services for Latino youth. Can you tell us about some of them?

Our library is very proud to offer a wide variety of Latino children’s programs. For example, Para los niños/For the children provides Spanish-speaking parents with increased access to resources, strategies, and activities that improve their ability to serve as their children’s “first teachers” from the time they are born, until they turn seven. All handouts for the program are bilingual, and the program is primarily conducted in Spanish.

Bilingual Storytime is conducted at several branches that serve large Spanish-speaking communities. It consists of rhymes, songs, finger plays, games from Latin American countries, and of course books written in Spanish and English. Another is an early literacy program, Jardín Infantil, which is conducted entirely in Spanish and is aimed at children from newborn to age four. There are three components to the program: age appropriate stories, activities that include simple rhymes and songs, and social time with moms and children. We use educational toys for social time.

We also offer cultural programs to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, and a wide array of other activities that include dance, music, arts & crafts, storytelling, and much more.

What are some of the best ways to attract Latino families and their children to the library?

We have found that word of mouth works really well, as it has helped to increase participation in the Jardín Infantil and Para los niños programs. Programs that include the whole family and take place during a time when parents are not working have the largest participation. Bringing community leaders to the table at the very beginning also helps, as many of these leaders see the people we want to reach at their facilities. Another really good partner to bring on board is the Spanish-language media. With TV and radio helping promote your services in Spanish, you are certain to reach your audience.

A concern that many librarians have when trying to service Latinos is that some may not be familiar with public libraries and how they work. Has this presented a challenge for you? If so, how has the library overcome this challenge?

One of the stumbling blocks is that although libraries are free in the United States, this is not the case in some countries, including many in Latin America. Not having been brought up with a library experience themselves, it is sometimes difficult for parents to pass on the importance of libraries to their children. Thus, getting across the importance of libraries to the Latino communities can pose a challenge. Community partners are a terrific way to reach out. We usually set up library booths at back-to-school events, partner with Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) to reach out to moms, and attend parents’ sessions scheduled by Head Start. At these events, we help new patrons to fill out their library cards, locate their closest library, find out about programs that are available for them and their children, and tell them about materials that can be loaned for free.

Do you feel that working closely with local organizations is useful to attract patrons to the library? Is this an approach you’d recommend to others?

This definitely works. We have a program with WIC in which the moms come to the library, read to their children, and then they bring their reading list to the desk for the librarian to sign. This is one of the requirements that the WIC clinics in Houston have to help parents understand that a healthy mind is as important as a healthy body.

You have served on the El día de los niños/El día de los libros (Children’s Day/ Book Day) National Advisory Committee. Now on its 12th year, Día, as it’s commonly called, has helped many libraries reach out to Latino children and their families. Tell us about the celebration and how it helps libraries reach out to patrons.

Día was founded by award-winning author and poet, Pat Mora and is now sponsored by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) and REFORMA. This has been an excellent program to get Latino families involved in using their library. The celebration is all about children and books and the connection that is made when you bring them together. Pat coined the term “bookjoy” to describe this phenomenon. With Día, the possibilities are endless, and the Texas Library Association has developed a toolkit for library staff, filled with ideas on how to celebrate Día, from first steps, to big annual celebrations.

You have also served as Chair of the Pura Belpré Award Committee. The previously bi-annual award has gone annual this year. Is this due to an increase of quality Latino literature available to U.S. readers?

The Pura Belpré award has given value to books written and illustrated by Latinos. What may have been previously perceived as a closed door to some, has brought new opportunities for those seeking publication. ALSC and REFORMA sponsor the award and I believe they are sending a message to publishers, book sellers, librarians, and educators, and that message is, that this is a prestigious award, and that it should be given annually, just as the other children’s books awards are given on an annual basis.

How do you feel U.S. Latino literature offerings have changed over the past 12 years since the award was created? Do you think the award has helped to prompt that change?

There are definitely more books written and/or illustrated by Latinos being published now. The first committee that selected the 1996 winners had to look at books published over a six-year period to find the award winners and honorees for that year. This was due to a lack of children’s books written and/or illustrated by Latinos. The award has helped to change that.

You edited The Pura Belpré Awards: Celebrating Latino Authors and Illustrators (ALA Editions, 2006). What motivated you to create this wonderful resource for libraries and educators?

This was actually an invitation made to me by the staff at ALSC. I was immediately excited about the possibility, and knew that with the right team in place, the book could certainly be written. The book would not have been what it is without the help of Oralia Garza de Cortés, Sandra Balderrama, Ana-Elba Pavón, and Jean Hatfield. Having Oralia and Sandra on the team provided us with the award’s vision, background, and history. Ana and Jean brought their experience of working on the award committee and the promotional efforts they put together in their communities.

You have served on the Texas Bluebonnet Award Committee. In 2007, Joe Hayes’s Ghost Fever/Mal de fantasma (Cinco Puntos, 2004) made history by becoming the first bilingual book to win the award. This seems to indicate an increased interest in books in that format. What are your thoughts on bilingual books?

Bilingual books are an important contribution, especially for those who are working with children who are learning in English at school. Some parents may speak and read Spanish better than English. Having a story in Spanish and English is a welcomed option for them. The same could be said about parents trying to learn Spanish or helping their children to learn Spanish. Some books work better than others in bilingual format.

Technology and the Internet have changed the way libraries serve their patrons and promote their programs. How has technology affected the way you approach and create children’s programs?

The Houston Public Library is now able to serve customers online. We offer homework help in Spanish and English 24 hours a day, seven days a week for patrons from Kindergarten, all the way through adult learners, and patrons can access this free service with a library card.

With the help of Spanish-speaking staff, our library is able to reach the Spanish-speaking via pod casts. HPLalso offers computer classes in Spanish for children and adults. All program information is now available online and customers can search them by library location.

What role should public libraries serve in the lives of Latino children and their families?

Libraries are in a position to make change happen by supporting and sponsoring initiatives that reach out to Latinos families. Efforts to introduce new programs, new materials, and new initiatives will work as the framework for all future endeavors to serve a community that has not always received the same benefits.

Every child, regardless of first language, color, or ethnicity, deserves the best services possible, and every opportunity to be successful in school. Libraries can provide rich resources to assist parents as they take on the role of first teachers to their children. It is a message that every librarian who works with children should get across to parents. Children are our future, and we should all invest in them.