Utah State Library Bookmobile Program uses strategic partnerships combined with new approaches to library traditions to provide innovative, effective services for Spanish speakers.
Four years ago, when the Utah State Library decided to use a community assessment tool to see what library services where needed across the state, it became clear that services to Spanish speakers were high on the list. While the public at large had built a tradition of serving diverse populations, including Spanish speakers, the last 15 years has seen a dramatic growth in Utah’s Latino population. The community assessment revealed that small, rural libraries were particularly struggling to serve their growing Spanish speaking communities.
According to Juan Tomás Lee, Library Consultant/State Data Coordinator at the State Library, there was no Spanish language collection and staff felt ill prepared to provide outreach.
After the community assessment, the State Library decided to set aside LSTA funds for libraries that would participate in programs that would serve Spanish speakers. The Library started providing grant funding for libraries who wanted to develop Spanish language collections, offer training (which could include cultural competencies, outreach, marketing, and collection development), and provide technical assistance to librarians, especially with some of the more complicated issues around foreign language cataloging.
Throughout 2006 and 2007 Juan had been traveling around the state asking libraries what kinds of support they needed to serve their Spanish speaking communities. It was at this time that he became very interested in working in Tooele County. Tooele County sits on the border between Utah and Nevada and due to its close proximity to Nevada’s casinos, many resort towns have emerged and this industry has brought in a large Spanish speaking population to service these resorts. Juan started talking to Doug Livsey, the Librarian for the Tooele County Bookmobile Library, about developing a partnership with the bookmobile to use the State Library funds. They felt that the bookmobile, which had been visiting schools, community centers, and apartment complexes, could reach out to some of these underserved populations if we bought Spanish language materials for the bookmobile.
Rather than just putting books on a truck and waiting for people to come, Juan and Doug decided to be more deliberate about the resources they chose and make sure the bookmobile went where Spanish speakers were already going. The grant was to focus on collections so the dollars could be maximized and address specific community needs. They met with several community leaders to find out who was successfully serving Spanish speakers. They realized that, by collaborating with these service providers, the bookmobile would be able to leverage the library and enhance the work of the service providers. The Library decided to partner with three local agencies: Head Start, who needed literacy materials for children and parents as well as training materials that help parents establish a culture of reading in their homes; Holy Cross Ministries, who had an established ESL program and, as a broad social service organization, needed reading materials to connect people with employment, parenting, and health information; and with a local combined middle and high school that has a room devoted to vocational training by providing college, technical school, trade school, military career, and other employment opportunity materials, and works with parents and students to prepare youth for life post-graduation. By selecting materials with these three places in mind, we were able to be much more focused with their collection development.
