According to the United States Census Bureau, as of 2014, the estimated Hispanic population is 17.4 percent of the total 319 million U.S. population.¹ Not every one of those individuals who classify themselves as Hispanic or Latino speaks Spanish. However, according to a 2015 report released by the prestigious Instituto Cervantes, “The United States is now the world’s second largest Spanish-speaking country after Mexico.”² The U.S. has forty-one million native speakers and eleven million who are bilingual.³ Those are some serious numbers and public libraries are at the forefront of assisting many of these Hispanics with whatever resources they have available. Many Spanish speakers go to public libraries to look for answers regarding a path to citizenship, questions about the I-90 form, services offered for Spanish speakers, and my favorite, “¿Donde tienes tus libros españoles?” (“Where do you have your Spanish books?”) Publishing companies are doing their best to cater to this large community, but answer this question: Even with more Spanish books readily available, who are the librarians assessing community needs and building these Spanish and bilingual collections? It is one thing to be a Hispanic librarian, as I am, but it is another to truly understand the Hispanic community to know how a collection should be built.

To understand the literacy troubles many—but not all—Hispanic adults face, we first have to take a look at their early childhood education. When considering statistical numbers for illiterate Hispanic children in the United States, it is not hard to see those children are at a disadvantage when compared to their white peers. A lot of the troubling literacy issue stems from “lower maternal education, weaker early reading practices, larger family size, and less exposure to quality preschool.”⁴ A 2007 study conducted by Child Trends Hispanic Institute concluded that “Hispanic children are significantly less likely than white children to be ready for school on all indicators except the ability to hold a pencil. Hispanic children are significantly less likely than black children to be able to recognize all letters, count to 20 or higher, or read written words in books.”⁵

In one of the poorest areas in the United States, a predominantly Hispanic region in South Texas known as the Rio Grande Valley, about 50 percent of its citizens are illiterate. The Rio Grande Valley ranks dead last in the entire state of Texas when it comes to literacy. These people are underserved and many of them do not even realize they are beneficiaries of educational institutions like public libraries. The median household income in that area is $31,077, which means the education level of many of those individuals is destitute. Public librarians in the Rio GrandeValley, and all across the nation, can offer so much to their Hispanic communities and collaborate with educational institutions to assist Hispanics with finding work or meeting their educational goals, such as obtaining a GED, pursuing a trade, or enrolling at a college or university. Hispanics look forward to what public libraries offer them. A Pew Research Center survey found that “overall, Hispanics have strong positive feelings about the role of libraries
in their communities, just as other Americans do.”⁶

I work at a public library that is fully staffed with twenty-five employees. All twenty-five employees are Hispanic and each staff member fully understands the challenges of providing an unmatched service to our Hispanic community. We all speak English and Spanish so our experiences with Hispanic patrons are unique. We are able to connect with our patrons on a much deeper level because we understand the Hispanic culture and have grown up in the same areas many of our patrons have. This in no way means we are better librarians than those who may not speak Spanish or understand the Spanish culture. However, we do have the ability to provide feedback to librarians who may have questions regarding Hispanics and their culture. The most important thing is to make the Hispanic community aware that you do understand their needs and acknowledge their presence. There are so many important cultural differences for Hispanics from all parts of Central and South America, so every approach or tactic will not be bulletproof. However, simply acknowledging that you indeed do have a Hispanic community is already a step forward.

In library school, they teach you about multicultural librarianship and how to cater to diverse communities. But learning something can only take you so far. The application is the key. Libraries should “recruit Spanish-speaking personnel in all job classifications, i.e. librarians, paraprofessionals, clerical workers and volunteers.”⁷ If you know your community has a large Hispanic community, it would be a good idea to hire at least one staff member who can speak English and Spanish well. It will save the rest of the staff a lot of trouble when it comes to communicating with Spanish-speaking patrons. Staffing has proven to be a positive factor for Hispanic students’ morale as well. “It was determined that professional staffing is a significant positive factor in reading scores”⁸ for Latino students. Comfortability with bilingual librarians has proven to help Hispanic students achieve their educational goals. They tend to ask for more assistance if they know the staff understands their needs.

Librarians and library professionals should never underestimate the power of the “door knocking” approach. Get out into the Hispanic community in your area to sit and talk to individuals who wish to have input on the Spanish and bilingual materials in your library; they are stakeholders as well. It is much better to go straight to the source than to assume you have all the answers. These patrons will be receptive and are willing to provide input. There is no denying how important public libraries are to Hispanics when eight in ten say they “strongly agree that libraries are important because they promote literacy and a love of reading. . . and provide everyone a chance to succeed because they provide free access to materials and resources.”⁹

Librarians can no longer sit back and wait for Hispanics to provide them with information regarding collection development. Outreach is the answer! Making contacts and connections throughout the community is an integral part of the collection development process. If this is not accomplished, Hispanics will assume the library does not care about their needs and does not wish to have programs that cater to their community and culture. “The most effective way to reach out to Latino populations is to build relationships with community leaders. Such leaders already have the trust of many Latinos.”¹⁰ It is also a good idea to locate offices or key figures of Spanish newspapers and magazines, to find community members who can assist in reaching out to the Hispanic population about library events.

Whenever possible, advertise and post signage around the library in Spanish. This is a useful tactic that will let Spanish speakers know that the library indeed understands there is a Hispanic community and they are important as well. The signs do not have to be flashy or over the top. They should be as effective as possible while also being concise. The most important thing to consider with signage is simply to get the message across. Social networking is obviously very popular, so posting in English and Spanish gets the word out much better than only posting in English. If you do not speak Spanish, use Google Translate. It is a highly resourceful tool that goes a long way. Libraries should always consider Spanish and English as options when purchasing books, magazines, and newspapers. If possible, providing government forms, financial aid forms, and other informative forms in Spanish really makes Spanish-speaking patrons feel welcomed and appreciated.

One of the most prominent issues that few librarians discuss openly is immigration (certainly an issue during this 2016 presidential election). It should be noted that Hispanics and the Spanish-speaking community have noticed this is definitely a hot topic. Just because someone does not speak English does not mean he or she does not understand an English telecast. The immigration topic and fear of deportation has many immigrant Hispanics fearful of approaching a library’s reference and circulation desks. They may need information but are too afraid to approach the desk because they worry being asked questions about citizenship status will book them a trip to deportation. This is an ongoing issue at the library I am employed at. For example, once a Spanish-speaking patron exits the elevator on our second floor, which leads to our reference desk, he or she often appears timid and afraid. This patron may converse with a family member they are with about whether they should even approach the desk or not. Once he or she finally musters the courage to approach, a sense of relief is felt after hearing the reference employee speak in Spanish.

Conclusion

It is up to all librarians to protect the privacy of all patrons regardless of their origin, age, background, religious preference, or views. A public library should be a safe haven for all who visit. Nobody should ever be afraid to enter a public library. It should always be a place where privacy shall never be infringed upon. Regardless of an individual’s legal status, libraries and librarians should be concerned with assisting Hispanic patrons with all the resources their libraries provide and nothing else.

There are many ways to reach out to the Hispanic community. Do not underestimate the little things and do not assume the Hispanic community does not take notice, because they definitely do. There are many resources librarians can look to for assistance with reaching out to Hispanic communities. As my inspiration, Louis Pasteur, once famously said, “Chance favors the prepared mind.”

References

1. United States Census Bureau, “Quick Facts: United States,” accessed Feb. 8, 2016.
2. Stephen Burgen, “US Now Has More Spanish Speakers than Spain—Only Mexico Has More,” The Guardian, US Edition, June 29, 2016, accessed Feb. 8, 2016.
3. Ibid.
4. Alma Guerrero et al., “Early Growth of Mexican-American Children: Lagging in Preliteracy Skills but Not Social Development,” Maternal & Child Health Journal 17, no. 9 (Nov. 2013).
5. David Murphey, Lina Guzman, and Alicia Torres, America’s Hispanic Children: Gaining Ground, Looking Forward (Bethesda, MD: Child Trends, 2014), accessed Feb. 8, 2016.
6. Anna Brown and Mark Hugo Lopez, “Public Libraries and Hispanics: Immigrant Hispanics Use Libraries Less, but Those Who Do Appreciate Them the Most,” Pew Research Center: Hispanic Trends, Mar. 17, 2015, accessed Feb. 8, 2016.
7. “Guidelines for Library Services to Spanish-Speaking Library Users,” Reference and User Services Association (RUSA), a division of the American Library Association, approved by the RUSA Board of Directors January 2007, accessed Feb. 8, 2016.
8. Jeanne Nelson, “Library Staffing Benefits Latino Student Achievement,” CSLA Journal 34, no. 1 (Mar. 2010), accessed Feb. 8, 2016.
9. Brown and Lopez, “Public Libraries and Hispanics.”
10. Ellyn Ruhlmann, “Connecting Latinos with Libraries,” American Libraries 45, no. 5 (May 19, 2014), accessed Feb. 8, 2016.

The post ¿Cómo puedo ayudarle? Providing the Best Service to Your Hispanic Community first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

In library school, they teach you about multicultural librarianship and how to cater to diverse communities. Learning something can only take you so far, however. It is the application portion that is key. Libraries should “recruit Spanish-speaking personnel in all job classifications, i.e. librarians, paraprofessionals, clerical workers and volunteers.”[3] Librarians and library professionals should never underestimate the power of the “door knocking” approach. Get out into the Hispanic speaking community in your area to sit and talk to individuals who wish to have input on the Spanish and bilingual material located in your library; they are stakeholders as well.

Librarians can no longer sit back and wait for Hispanics to provide them with information regarding collection development. Outreach is the answer! Making contacts and connections throughout the community for assistance with this process is an integral part of the collection development process. If this is not accomplished, Hispanics will assume the library does not care about their needs and does not wish to have programs that cater to their community and culture. Whenever possible, advertise and post signage around the library in Spanish. This is a useful tactic that will let Spanish speakers know that the library indeed understands there is a Hispanic community and they are important as well. Social networking is obviously very popular in this digital age, so posting in English and Spanish gets the word out much better than only posting in English. If you do not speak Spanish, use Google Translate. It is a highly resourceful tool that goes a long way.

There are many ways to reach out to the Hispanic community. Do not underestimate the little things and do not assume the Hispanic community does not take notice. As Louis Pasteur once famously said, “Chance favors the prepared mind.”

[1] “Quick Facts Beta: United States,” The United States Census Bureau, accessed November 17, 2015, http://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/RHI725214/00.

[2] “US now has more Spanish speakers than Spain – only Mexico has More,” The Guardian, accessed November 16, 2015, http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jun/29/us-second-biggest-spanish-speaking-country.

[3] “Guidelines for Library Services to Spanish-Speaking Library Users,” Reference and User Services Association (RUSA), A Division of the American Library Association, accessed November 18, 2015, http://www.ala.org/rusa/resources/guidelines/guidespanish.

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According to the 2010 US Census, there are 50.5 million people of Hispanic origin in the United States compared to 35.3 million in 2000. Hispanics are the largest growing population in the United States with a 43 percent growth since 1990. According to Mexico’s 2000 Census, 53 percent of their population did not complete intermediate-level education. In 2010, the Pew Hispanic Center stated that 52 percent of Hispanics in the United States are high school dropouts compared to 25 percent of the native born. Among Hispanic dropouts, some 21 percent of the native born have a GED, compared with just 5 percent of the foreign born. Unemployment rates are higher and salaries are lower for those who do not have a high school diploma. Studies have shown that the development of a second language is dependent on the knowledge of the first language.

The Plaza Comunitarias Program was created in 2001 under the administration of Mexican President Vicente Fox and accepted in the United States through a Memorandum of Understanding between the Mexican and United States governments dated November 10, 2004. The Plazas Comunitarias serve as transitional programs into English and adult basic education classes as it establishes an academic foundation for Hispanic immigrants from which to work. There are four hundred Plaza Comunitarias programs in the United States.

In 2005, the Texas Library Association awarded the Richardson (Tex.) Public Library (RPL) a grant to send one of its staff members to Mexico to receive training in the Plazas Comunitarias Program. Plaza Comunitaria is a free curriculum in Spanish created by the Mexican National Institute of Adult Education (INEA) to help Hispanics learn to read and write in their native language and finish elementary- and intermediate-level education certified by the Mexican Department of Education.

The Mexican Consulate offices in Dallas became RPL’s liaison with the INEA. A work program agreement was signed in 2006 between INEA, the Mexican Consulate, and RPL. This agreement would give us access to INEA’s registration and testing online system known by its acronym SASACE. We also have access to all textbooks (print versions, online editions, and PDF files).

In 2006, RPL was granted $5,000 from the Texas Book Festival to purchase three computers and one printer for the Plaza Comu-nitaria. The library provided us with four additional computers in a former supervisor’s office that are connected to the City of Richardson’s computer network. Additional grants provided funding for ESL, citizenship, and GED materials. The library provides an annual budget of $5,000 that covers printing, supplies, instructional materials, and a dinner for the graduation ceremony.

In July 2006, the Plaza Comunitaria @ Richardson Public Library Program was inaugurated. Announcements were sent to Hispanic newspapers and radio stations, supermarkets, churches, schools, and public libraries all over the Dallas metropolitan area. We had planned to reach twenty-five adult learners but we inaugurated with sixty-three instead. We recruited and trained twelve Latino volunteer tutors who would work two hours per week in study groups. By the end of 2006, we had registered 110 adult learners. We now work with an average of two hundred students every year. All students must take diagnostic testing provided by SASACE to determine their course of study. Free copies of the books assigned to the students are printed and provided at the library’s expense. The library offers us three classroom spaces and a computer lab.

Like all adult literacy programs, some challenges were presented. As of 2011, we were working with an average of two hundred students per year with a 70 percent retention rate. Students come and go due to family and work problems. Lack of space and volunteer tutors to work with individual students also present a challenge. The curriculum can be overwhelming to many students. Basic literacy students––those learning to read and write as adults––take a considerable amount of time to learn. Because of their indigenous roots, many are learning a structured language for the first time. About half of the basic literacy students drop the program due to frustrations and low self-esteem. Our job is not only to teach, but to motivate. We motivate our students by organizing classes at their convenience, providing motivational speakers, and celebrating their triumphs.

Each book in the curriculum requires one to three months to complete and test except for basic literacy, which takes an average of a year to complete the first book. Both elementary- and –intermediate-level students are required to complete a total of twelve books to complete an educational level. All books in the curriculum are based on life and work skills and are written exclusively for adults.

We work with an average of fifteen volunteer tutors per year. Volunteer tutors are hard to retain because of the profound commitment tutoring requires. Recruitment and training of volunteer tutors is continuous. We visit professional and cultural associations to recruit tutors. Most of the tutors at this time are former students of the program. Tutors must be competent in any of the academic areas such as mathematics, Spanish, history, and science. To be effective, tutors must remain with their students for the duration of the book they study. They meet for three hours weekly for an average of twenty weeks except for the basic literacy students. The average stay of a volunteer tutor is one year but we have two volunteers that have been with us for six years and ten that have been with us for more than two years.

Volunteer tutor training is essential. Tutor training is directly connected to retention. INEA and local literacy organizations provide us with training. Individual training is also provided by the coordinator to all volunteer tutors. Lesson planning, educational resources, and teaching techniques are discussed during the training sessions. Volunteer tutors are presented with all types of challenges with adult learners because most of these adults do not possess study skills or read for pleasure. Some students are completely illiterate or are undereducated. Volunteer tutors must buy into the program to stay with it, which is why most of the tutors are former students who have received the services provided. The tutors feel the urge to pay it forward or to give to the community in a significant way. Tutors do change lives and these changes can be seen in their students.

One of our volunteer tutors, Josefina, finished her elementary, middle school and GED preparation course in Spanish with the Plaza Comunitaria Program and is now teaching basic literacy to illiterate Hispanics. Josefina was our Volunteer of the Year in 2012. She not only has changed her life but is determined to change the lives of others. Josefina does not drive so she walks from her home to the library. She has the patience and compassion of a saint and talks to everyone about how education has changed her view of the world and has given her hope for her future and her children.

Partnerships are essential to the success of the program. In September 2009, the Plaza Comunitaria program partnered with the Richardson Independent School District After-School Program, which provides us with two paid teachers who work with a group of twenty intermediate-level students once a week for three hours at a school facility. Ninety-two percent of these adult learners continued the program and the rest were replaced with new students. They took their subject tests and passed them. Another partner is the Richardson Adult Literacy Center, a non-profit organization that has worked with the library for more than fifteen years providing ESL instruction. ESL is taught in six levels with average groups of fifteen students at a school facility. The space required for classroom purposes would be impossible to provide without the help of the school districts.

The Plaza Comunitaria @ Richardson Public Library offers other types of courses besides the essential basic literacy, pre-GED, and GED preparation courses for the Hispanic population. The program also offers workshops and seminars during the year that cover computer, financial, health, and civic literacy. Seminars have been offered on self-esteem, domestic violence, positive thinking, and college readiness. We have taken adult learners to field trips, author lectures, and museums. One of the lectures we attended was by author Isabel Allende. It was important for the students to listen to a Hispanic writer speak in English. Even though Allende has lived in the United States for many years, she still has a Hispanic accent. The students were very pleased to hear her and understand that they do not have to speak English like their children to be understood. Many Hispanics are leery of speaking with an accent and many are reticent to speak at all, even when they know the language. Students also visited the Sixth Floor Museum in Dallas to listen to the audio tour in English. We met later to discuss the highlights of the tour. Many students had never heard an author or visited a museum before.

Our citizenship and Teaching of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) classes are open to all nationalities. The volunteer instructor for the citizenship class is trained by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services. The volunteer instructor for the TOEFL class is a certified ESL instructor. During the summer we offer a Spanish as a Second Language “Conversaciones @ the Library” course to non-Spanish speakers.

At city hall, during the month of January, the library celebrates a formal graduation ceremony for all students who have completed elementary, intermediate, and GED educational levels during the previous year. We provide diplomas, a special guest speaker, dinner, and entertainment. The library also provides the graduation gowns. The pride and joy of our 231 graduates since 2007 is priceless. Families join the graduates in this ceremony to celebrate the hard work and sacrifices of their family members.

The coordinator is a library staff member who is also a supervisor of technical services at the library, so the job requires excellent time management skills. It is the responsibility of the coordinator to interview, register, and test all adult learners as well as recruit and train all volunteer tutors. The coordinator also models teaching techniques during the first couple of classes. The coordinator attends literacy conferences with a selected number of volunteer tutors and then meets with all tutors to discuss the highlights of the training. During the meetings with the volunteer tutors, supplementary materials and the use of websites are discussed. We established four months out of the year (April, May, October, November) for registration and placement testing of new students. Intermediate-level students are tested twice a semester, while elementary-level students are tested once per semester. Each semester is twenty weeks long, leaving two months (June and December) for volunteer tutors and the coordinator to take vacation from the program.

In 2011–12, the library went through the ProLiteracy America accreditation process. The Plaza Comunitaria @ Richardson Public Library is officially a nationally accredited volunteer-based adult literacy program. Accreditation indicates that the library follows the national standards for adult literacy. ProLiteracy America provides discounts for literacy materials, training, advocacy, and a national literacy directory for public use.

Coordinating the Plaza Comunitaria program is very hard work. It is a challenge but very rewarding. There is a tremendous need for adult literacy programs in general and the need in the Hispanic community continues to grow. With library staff and budgets shrinking, many libraries would think that this type of commitment is not possible. However, the success of the adult literacy programs at RPL indicate that they can be cost-effective and efficiently run if the library is committed to serving its community where it really needs help.

The responsibilities of public libraries have changed in the last few decades. Library users today require that lifelong education be taken seriously and that public libraries offer more than book clubs, storytimes, and computer classes. Today’s public libraries are community centers that provide access to knowledge, education, and entertainment. Public libraries are the lifeline to lifelong readers and we need to start by creating these readers.

Adult literacy changes the lives of the undereducated; makes them better citizens and workers; and allows them to be role models to their children and their community.

Public libraries are the perfect place to provide adult literacy classes because libraries have the space and resources necessary, are accessible, centrally located, have service-oriented operating hours, and have friendly and approachable staff. More importantly literacy is part of the library’s mission.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Jack Cassidy et al., “A Learner-Centered Family Literacy Project for Latino Parents And Caregivers,” Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy 47, no. 6 (March 2004): 478–88.

James Cummins, Schooling and Language Minority Students: A Theoretical Framework (Los Angeles: California State University, 1981).

Nadine Dutcher, Expanding Educational Opportunity in Linguistically Diverse Societies (Washington, D.C.: Center for Applied Linguistics, 2002).

Richard Fry, “Hispanics, High School Dropouts and the GED,” PewResearch Hispanic Center, accessed Feb. 1, 2013.

Eugene E. Garcia, Effective Schooling for Language Minority Students (Washington, D.C.: National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education, 1987).

Ana G. Huerta-Macias, “Meeting the Challenge of Adult Education: A Bilingual Approach to Literacy and Career Development,” Journal of Adolescent and Adult Education 47, no. 3 (Nov. 2003): 218–28.

Stephen D. Krashen, Bilingual Education and Second Language Acquisition Theory (Los Angeles: University of California, 1984).

Lisa Krolak, The Role of Libraries in the Creation of Literate Environments (Hamburg, Germany: UNESCO Institute for Education, 2005).

Sylvia Cobos Lieshoff, “Working with Latino Families: Challenges Faced by Educators and Civic Readers,” Adult Basic Education and Literacy Journal, 1, no. 3 (Fall 2007): 133–44.

México, Instituto Nacional para la Educación de Adultos, Relación entre el Aprendizaje de la Lectura, Escritura y Cálculo Básico en Español, y el Dominio del Inglés como Segundo Idioma (Investigación en Adultos Mexicanos Residentes en EUA, 2002).

México. Instituto Nacional para la Educación de Adultos, Normas y Procedimientos de Inscripción, Acreditación y Certificación de Educación para Jóvenes y Adultos de Comunidades Mexicanas en el Exterior, 2006.

Mexico, Censo de Población, 2010.

US Census Bureau, The Hispanic Population: 2010 (C2010BR-04, 2011).

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