Multnomah County Library

1
Multnomah County Library

• An Administrators View of
• Día de los Niños y Día de los Libros

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Multnomah Background

• 17 MCL locations serve Portland, Gresham, and
  rest of county
• Separate units dedicated to adult and youth
  outreach
• 1995 Ellen Fader started as Youth Services
  Coordinator
• 1997 MCL awarded first of 2 Library Services and
  Technology Act grants (LSTA) to start LIBROS

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WHY LIBROS?

• Latino population in county rapidly expanding
• Cultural and language service barriers
• Staff lacked language skills
• Library Outreach in Spanish (LIBROS) addresses
  issues
• Started with one Spanish-speaking Library
  Outreach Specialist in January 1998
• Marcela Villagran proposed MCLs first Día
  celebration

4
Planning our First Día

• Objective to celebrate with Spanish-speaking
  children and their families the magic of books
  and stories, and to celebrate their culture and
  language
• One location -- a diverse, centrally located
  branch with large and small meeting rooms and
  enthusiastic staff

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First Día Highlights

• 10 a.m. 3 p.m., Friday April 30, 1999
• Target audience of 200 preschoolers and their
  families
• Invited partners Marcela already served with
  bilingual or monolingual outreach visits (Head
  Start Migrant Even Start Housing Authority of
  Portland sites child care programs social
  service agency programs)
• Advertised through partners newsletters Spanish
  newspapers/radio Library flyers and newsletter

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• What we promised Join us for a traditional
  celebration of childhood and bilingual literacy
  honoring the power and magic books bring to
  children.
• Sponsors thanked on program Oregon Public
  Broadcasting (giveaway books from OPBs Ready to
  Learn initiative), Don Pedro Mexican
  Food Restaurant (food for volunteers), El
  Hispanic News (ads), Safeway (refreshments for
  families), and Pat Mora (inspiration).

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First Día Program

• Donated apples, cookies and juice
• Library info table (library card applications and
  general Library info brochure in Spanish
  takeaway bookmarks, stickers and paper book bags
  to color
• Local clinics did child health screenings
• 4 storytimes with easy crafts

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1999 Activities

• Puppet Shows
• Music
• Dancers
• Childrens Museum hands-on activity
• Tables with crafts
• Storytelling

• Picnic at the Library tablecloths on meeting
  room floor for groups to eat the lunches they
  brought
• Community Fair (WIC, Oregon Public Broadcasting,
  Head Start social service agencies)
• Library Tours

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1999 Workers

• LIBROS Advisory Committee (Library staff
  community members who advised on LSTA grant)
• Staff from Oregon Council for Hispanic
  Advancement (OCHA)
• Hispanic clubs from local high schools
• Volunteers recruited by Volunteer Services or by
  Marcela for LIBROS
• Bilingual staff (paid)

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Wow!

• Nearly 1,000 people attended the 1999 celebration
• Multnomah County Library was the first agency in
  the Northwest to observe Día de los Niños y Día
  de los Libros.
• Having a Latina county commissioner involved
  brought great publicity

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What we changed for Día 2000

• Needed to print program in Spanish and English
• Needed and got more media sponsors El Hispanic
  News returned we added The Oregonian and KBOO
• Many more wanted to participate all thanked on
  program (Spanish classes restaurants science
  museum zoo Police Activities League)

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More 2000 changes

• Moved to a branch library where more migrant
  families lived
• Branch had 1 large and 2 small meeting rooms
• Changed to a Thursday (Head Start doesnt meet on
  Fridays)
• Longer program 10 a.m. 8 p.m.
• Community Fair and Art Workshop went all day

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2000 Highlights

• High school students trained to do Library tours
  (every ½ hour)
• Community volunteers trained to read stories
  (noon, and every ½ hour from 4 p.m.)
• Many students performed/presented storytelling
  dance puppet shows
• Professionals clown (bilingual!) music dance
  storytelling (Carmen Bernier-Grand)
• Over 4,000 attended

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What happened in 2001

• Still coordinated centrally by Spanish Outreach
  Specialist
• Expanded to 6 libraries
• Involved many more staff and community resources
• Reached over 6,300 participants
• Offered 29 cultural programs
• Lasts for month of April

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New in 2001

• Paper flower and piñata making
• Photography workshop
• Bilingual play
• School choir
• Arts Crafts Show
• College dancers

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Hooray!!

• Multnomah County Library wins the 2002 Estela and
  Raul Mora Award!
• Marcela Villagran is on FMLA with first child!
• At REFORMA Board meeting in ALA
  Midwinter/Philadelphia in January 2003, Ellen
  Fader accepts plaque and stipend!

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Día 2002

• Ellen Fader (happily) no longer responsible for
  LIBROS.
• 6 branches now have dedicated bilingual LIBROS
  paraprofessional staff who provide programming,
  reference and outreach services.
• That leads to the biggest change Each branch
  plans own Día only professional programming and
  supply ordering are centrally coordinated.

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Local planning

• More responsive to neighborhoods
• Increased staff development opportunity
• Increased local ownership staff, schools, and
  businesses
• Work for Spanish Outreach Specialist shifts to
  coordinating supplies, and liaison with Public
  Relations, which books professional programmers,
  designs local flyers, and promotes month-long
  event

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Local planning

• Need to have role clarity and decision-making
  authority clearly delegated
• Color of logo and paper
• Systemwide Web site and flyers? Local flyers?
  Templates? Design?
• Style guides?
• Translation
• Promotion local or systemwide?
• Who is main contact for questions media
  appearances?

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More hard decisions

• Who
• documents (photos, videos) each event?
• previews selects professional and local talent?
• solicits community groups participation?
• Varied project management, budgeting and
  evaluation skills

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Feedback

• ESL WIC clients confused about one branches
  Spanish/English flyer promoting Día for all
  bilingual children
• Bilingual staff confused who is really in charge
  at branches?

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Now it is 2006

• LIBROS has expanded to 8 branches
• LIBROS has new manager
• Stated mission an event directed toward the
  Latino commuity of Multnomah County. It is
  intended to celebrate children and their culture
  and language, bilingual literacy and the magic of
  books.

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Future literacy focus

• How can we make the event more literacy-based and
  make it reflect the theme children and bilingual
  literacy?
• Defined literacy-related activity One wherein
  language, words, stories, or letters are primary
  elements
• Analyzed all 2006 activities giveaways for
  literacy focus

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Examples literacy-relatedactivities

• Storytelling
• Book-making
• Writing
• Reading aloud Singing songs
• Cutting out letters
• Using letter stamps

• Activities emphasizing dialogue
• May focus on textual elements
• Shapes
• Colors
• Numbers

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Not literacy-related, but still valuable

• These strengthen community and family ties, are
  fun, enhance cultural literacy, stimulate
  discussion
• Making crafts, such as paper flowers
• Face painting
• Instrumental music

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FYI 2006 Budget

• Programming 6,159
• Rentals 1,976
• Printing (partial) 1,302
• Other 1,350
• Llama
• Artist for craft program
• Performers in schools
• Total budget (partial) 10,787

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2007?

• Directed toward Spanish-speaking community
• Provides a majority of programming, crafts,
  events, and activities that are designed to
  promote bilingual literacy
• Adheres to a single system-wide marketing
  presentation of the celebration as guided by
  Public Relations with input from LIBROS work group

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2007 specifics

• Continue to implement new meeting room guidelines
• Three-hour limit of celebrations (started in
  2005)
• 15,000 programming, print supply budget for 8
  locations
• Roles responsibilities clarified with PR
  LIBROS

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Why is Día so important?

• Community focus
• Volunteer involvement
• Public (parents, educators, agencies) loves it
• Brings people together
• Staff learns new skills
• Gets media attention
• Donors
• LITERACY!