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Engaging Your Community in Dia Partnerships

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Engaging Your Community in Dia Partnerships A Multnomah County Library Administrator s View of D a de los Ni os y D a de los Libros Multnomah Background 17 MCL ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Engaging Your Community in Dia Partnerships


1
Engaging Your Community in Dia Partnerships
  • A Multnomah County Library
  • Administrators View of
  • Día de los Niños y Día de los Libros

2
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

3
WHY LIBROS?
  • Library Outreach in Spanish (LIBROS) addresses
    issues
  • Latino population in county rapidly expanding
  • Cultural and language service barriers
  • Staff lacked language skills
  • 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

5
First Día Highlights
  • 10 a.m. 3 p.m., Friday April 30, 1999
  • Target audience of 200 preschoolers and their
    families
  • Marcela invited partners she 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 fliers and newsletter

6
  • 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).

7
First Día Program
  • Served donated apples, cookies and juice
  • Library info table (library card applications
    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

8
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

9
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)

10
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.
  • Great publicity by involving our Latina county
    commissioner

11
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
    (community radio)
  • Many more wanted to participate we thanked all
    on program (high school Spanish classes
    restaurants science museum zoo Police
    Activities League)

12
More 2000 changes
  • Moved to different branch (closer to target
    audience of migrant families)
  • Branch had 1 large and 2 small meeting rooms
    (more capacity)
  • 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

13
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 bilingual clown music dance
    storytelling (author Carmen Bernier-Grand)
  • Over 4,000 attended

14
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
  • Programs during entire month of April

15
New in 2001
  • Paper flower and piñata making
  • Photography workshop
  • A bilingual play
  • School choir
  • Arts crafts show
  • College dancers

16
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!

17
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.

18
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 contracts with professional
    programmers, designs local fliers, and promotes
    month-long event

19
Local planning brings lots of decision points
  • Need to have role clarity and decision-making
    authority clearly delegated
  • Color of logo and paper
  • Systemwide web site and fliers? Local fliers?
    Templates? Design?
  • Style guides?
  • Translation?
  • Promotion local or system-wide?

20
More hard decisions
  • Who
  • is main contact for questions media
    appearances?
  • documents (photos, videos) each event?
  • previews and selects professional and local
    talent?
  • solicits community groups participation?
  • Staff bring varied project management, budgeting,
    and evaluation skills

21
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?

22
Now it is 2007
  • LIBROS has expanded to 8 branches
  • LIBROS has new manager
  • Stated Día mission an event directed toward
    the Latino community of Multnomah County. It is
    intended to celebrate children and their culture
    and language, bilingual literacy and the magic of
    books.

23
2007 featured literacy focus
  • How can we make the event more literacy-based and
    make it reflect the theme children and bilingual
    literacy?
  • We defined literacy-related activity One
    wherein language, words, stories, or letters are
    primary elements
  • We analyzed all 2006 activities and giveaways for
    literacy focus

24
Types of literacy-relatedactivities
  • Storytelling
  • Book-making
  • Writing
  • Reading aloud Singing songs
  • Cutting out letters
  • Using letter stamps
  • Activities emphasizing dialogue
  • Focus on textual elements
  • Shapes
  • Colors
  • Numbers

25
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

26
FYI 2007 Budget
  • Programming 4,466
  • Rentals 2,191
  • Printing 2,225
  • Other 5,370
  • Supplies for literacy projects
  • Artist for craft program
  • Total budget 14,252

27
Summary 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

28
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29
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

30
Why is Día so important?
  • Reflects underlying goals of MCLs strategic plan
    aimed at people of all ages and backgrounds
  • Community focus brings people together
  • Volunteer involvement
  • Public (parents, educators, agencies) loves it
  • Staff learns new skills
  • Gets media attention
  • Attracts donors
  • LITERACY!

31
Find out more
  • Ellen Fader
  • Youth Services Coordinator
  • Multnomah County Library
  • Portland, OR
  • 503.988.5408
  • ellenf_at_multcolib.org
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