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Marcela Saldivia-Berglund, Ph.D., Latino Services Librarian |
The role of Latino Services at Sedona Public Library
Bridging cultures and community outreach (Part 2 of 2)
by Marcela Saldivia-Berglund, Ph.D., Latino Services LibrarianSEDONA, AZ - (May 15, 2009) - In last week’s column, I presented an overview of the origins of the Spanish-language adult collection at Sedona Public Library and a description of the main tasks of the Latino Services Librarian. I also offered a clarification of some common misleading assumptions about Latinos/Hispanics in the U.S. This column continues the discussion of the Latino Services goal to assist Spanish-speaking users and the programs implemented to help them fully incorporate into American life.
Lady Bird Johnson said, “Perhaps no place in any community is so totally democratic as the town library. The only entrance requirement is interest.” I couldn’t agree more with the former First Lady. Keeping in mind that Sedona Public Library is a democratic space and a non-profit organization, it is our duty to provide free information services to all. And this “all” is neither exclusive nor discriminatory. The Library is a community center where everyone is welcome, can use the facilities available, and can have access to instructive, useful and practical sources of information.
When I came to Sedona Public Library in October 2008, I deeply reflected on the reasons why the Library has a Spanish-language collection and services. First the demographic data speaks for itself: more than 10% of the population in Sedona speaks Spanish (and this figure is from the 2000 Census). Secondly — contrary to false assumptions — Hispanics also pay taxes; therefore they have the right to access services intended for U.S. citizens. Thirdly, there are renowned Spanish-language authors who deserve to be read in their own language.
This leads to the fourth reason which underpins my overall working philosophy: Bridging Cultures. The Library is a learning-teaching arena that reaches out to both Spanish- and English-speaking people and a culturally diverse array of tourists. Our Spanish-language collection brings to the Library non-Hispanics interested in reading Spanish books or finding materials to continue practicing their language skills. This goes both ways, because the greatest circulation in this collection is for materials that teach English. [Jump]
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[Continue] Shortly after starting to work
for the Library I met Sedona resident Marilyn
Bernhardt who invited me to attend Hablamos Español.
On her own initiative, Marilyn created this program
in March 2008 as a means to continue practicing
Spanish. She gathers a group of Anglo-Americans in
the Library’s Quiet Study Room twice a month for
informal conversations in Spanish. This is not a
language class but a friendly meeting open to anyone
who wants to chat in Spanish, at any level. This
kind of community initiative clearly shows how
Anglo-Americans are truly interested in and enjoy
sharing information about their experiences
traveling to Spanish-speaking countries and learning
the language.
With this central idea in mind, I envisaged a public
event at the Library that would gather Hispanics and
Anglos sharing the same purpose: healthy
entertainment. With poet and story-teller Gary
Every, we coordinated a poetry event celebrating
love and the beauty of language in the spirit of
Valentine's Day called Multicultural Poetry Night:
The Many Languages of Love. This event featured 15
local poets who read or performed poetry works in
Spanish and English. The Poetry Night brought
together more than 90 Anglos and Hispanics who
enjoyed an evening of fun, laughter, languages,
poetry and music. The success of this event
demonstrated that there are myriad possibilities
that both the Hispanic and Anglo public will feel
comfortable with, share and enjoy.
In March I began the Latino Cine Forum, a series of
films with Hispanic-related content. Latino Cine
Forum takes place the first and the third or fourth
Tuesdays of every month at 5:00 p.m. We screen
nominated or award-winning movies from the Hispanic
world. Ideally, an open discussion with Qs & As
follows (in English). This is intended to reach out
to anyone interested in learning more about Hispanic
culture through movies. (For the schedule, see
Events at www.sedonalibrary.org).
Also in March, I organized a pilot program in
Spanish to teach Hispanics how to use the Internet
and other basic computer programs. The three pilot
classes immediately were full and very successful.
There is an existing demand to continue a program of
computer classes for Hispanics.
Another important outreach initiative to Hispanics
not familiar with the Sedona Public Library is Open
Houses. In conjunction with the Children’s and Youth
Services Librarian, Pam Comello, we organized a
successful Open House and will continue having them
annually. In the Children’s Room I also collaborate
with Librarian Daryl Lusher for the Bilingual Story
Time and assist Pam Comello in volunteering with the
Head Start program of the Sedona School District.
Next week we’re introducing a new program, Charla
Series (Talk Series), for anyone interested in
learning about the diversity of the Hispanic world.
The inauguration of the Charla Series is Friday, May
29 at 5 p.m. in the Si Birch Community Room
(conducted in English). The first Charla is Chile:
Land of Contrasts — Pablo Neruda’s Presence in the
Chilean Reality presented by Dr. Cecilia Ojeda,
Chair of the Modern Languages Department at Northern
Arizona University. Using multimedia resources,
professor Ojeda will offer a panoramic overview of
the dramatically diverse geography of Chile with
frequent references to Neruda’s poetic imagination
focusing on its social and political dimensions
expressed in Canto General (Neruda’s 10th book of
poems).
Future projects include displays of the culturally
diverse Hispanic population in Sedona such as an
International Latin American Festival and a Dia de
los Muertos Altar built by residents of Mexican
origin.
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Readers' comments
#1 This is a wonderful
initiative to help our children understand the
diversity in our community. This initiative
should be known to all!
F.Pires