When Robin Imperial took charge of Spanish services at the Wake County P.L. in Raleigh, NC, back in 2000, she knew she had a lot to learn. Raleigh's Spanish-speaking community was booming—the 2000 Census showed an 1,180% increase in the city's Latino population from 1980 to 2000—yet her library offered no services designed directly for that group. Imperial attended REFORMA meetings, enrolled in training sessions, and read the bible of Latino librarianship, Serving Latino Communities: A How-To-Do-It Manual for Librarians, by Camila Alire and Orlando Archibeque.

From not having a library card to not speaking English or being illiterate to fearing being reported to the USCIS (U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services), many barriers keep Spanish-speaking immigrants from visiting libraries in this country. Different factors determine how much or what kind of outreach you can do to attract Hispanic patrons to your library, but without a Spanish speaker on staff, your library won't go far.

If you are not bilingual, consider using paraprofessionals and volunteers to help you translate promotional material and organize bilingual or Spanish programs. Volunteers can also help your outreach efforts by sharing their connections to the community; they can keep you updated on local events, possible donors, and even Latino food sources!

Lucía González, associate director of the Broward County P.L. in Florida, learned this first lesson two years ago when her library was short of Spanish-speaking personnel. "My dream was to have a bilingual staff that could reach out to kids and with them to the multilingual, multicultural community," says González. When she finally hired two bilingual graduate interns to do outreach, González's dream came true: their efforts got more kids involved in library activities, and the Hispanic community began to flow in.

This year's 17th Annual Children's Reading Festival, held outside the main branch, attracted more than 15,000 people. "Latino representation came from everywhere as a result of these two bilingual staff members reaching out to the schools, parents, and newspapers," González reports.

While Spanish speakers may not know about their local public libraries, they are experts on Latino holidays, music, dance, artesanías ("crafts"), and other traditions. A Latin festival or parade and street fairs for Cinco de Mayo in your community are excellent opportunities to reach out to Hispanics. These events attract large crowds, so get a booth or park your bookmobile and distribute handouts, en español, listing basic library information. Don't forget to use giveaways to attract the shy ones and, above all, schedule a Spanish-speaking staff member for these events.

If you prefer to organize a holiday celebration yourself, be sure to do "programs the Hispanic public can identify with," says Jack Galindo, public relations coordinator at El Paso P.L., TX. Galindo's library began celebrating Día de los Niños/Día de los Libros (Day of the Child/Day of the Book) in 1997, when children's book author Pat Mora introduced the Latin American holiday in the States. The holiday promotes literacy and celebrates the gift of being multilingual. Now, up to 40,000 people participate in El Paso's event, which features all sorts of activities, from piñata and lotería to sports and carnival games. "The event is free because we want to make sure everyone is able to attend," says Galindo.

A holiday celebration can also be a literary experience. At the San Francisco P.L. Mission Branch, where I serve, grants from the Peninsula Community Foundation and REFORMA sponsored our 2002 Hispanic Heritage Month celebration, which featured presentations by Salvadoran poet and children's book author Jorge Argueta, award-winning illustrator Maya Christina González, and painter and author Elizabeth Gómez.

Even if the event is not literary, it can be used to promote literacy. Every year, in time for Día de los Niños/Día de los Libros, the Providence P.L., RI, holds a bilingual story writing contest. In January, bilingual outreach aide Carolina Briones and children's programs coordinator Cheryl Space, begin working on stories with ESL students at elementary schools and with kids who attend the library's literacy programs. The award's ceremony on April 30 features dancers, music, food, crafts, and bilingual book giveaways. "It is the highlight of our year," says Space, adding that last year's efforts earned them the Estela & Raúl Mora Award.

Alexandra Sánchez from the Queens P.L. International Resource Center in Flushing, started the library system's first Spanish book group three years ago to promote literacy among adult patrons. "When I was a librarian-in-training, a more veteran colleague told me that Hispanics don't read," Sánchez recalls. "But three years later, our 'Círculo de Lectores' is still a success and we average 20 participants per discussion session." The group reads and discusses three books, mainly recent releases, each spring and fall.

If your library already hosts Día de los Niños, Cinco de Mayo, or any other annual holiday, you may want to take the next step and organize ongoing Spanish programming. Securing a public for your library events may be a challenge at first, but don't give up. Visit the schools, parent groups, churches, businesses, and organizations working with immigrants in your area, and personally invite Hispanic families to your library. Build relationships with principals and teachers. Latinos have a great respect for authority, and if a teacher says children need to go to the library, parents will listen.

"When I go out and speak to the community, library services are not one of their priorities but education is, so I have to connect libraries to education," states Salvador Avila, community outreach and adult services coordinator at the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District. Avila, who was Críticas's 2003 Librarian of the Year, is often out of his library, meeting with local organizations and spreading the word about youth programs, leadership skills, and the importance of education. Avila promotes hot new titles, AV releases, and the library's ESL, citizenship, and job-hunting classes. For Lisa Murillo, senior librarian at the Woodbury Branch of the Denver P.L., "It is key to call people the day before [a class or program] to remind them about it." Murillo also stresses the importance of making childcare services available during adult programs.

Arranging a focus group to identify the programs that work best in your community can yield great attendance. When youth services librarian Ruth Mitchel first began doing Spanish outreach at Oregon's Corvallis-Benton County P.L. back in 2000, she got a light response. Knowing the Latino community in her county was large, Mitchel armed herself with all en español versions of the Library Bill of Rights (available at ala.org), library card applications, and brochures, and visited Even Start mothers to ask them for ideas. After a series of unsuccessful programs, the group came up with the popular "Fiesta de su Biblioteca" ("Your Library's Party"), a monthly event featuring a performer, storytime, and a craft that has helped attract Latino families to the library. In 2003, Corvallis-Benton County won the Estela & Raúl Mora Award partly for the growth of its Spanish programming.

Successful outreach does not necessarily depend on the Hispanic crowds you attract to your library. You may want to consider taking your services directly to their homes. The Santa Cruz and Watsonville public libraries in California take storytime kits to home daycares in Hispanic neighborhoods. With 400 book kits on 80 different topics, the program has been a hit.

Because the Spanish-speaking population is so diverse, specific community needs and your library's resources will determine what kind of programming and outreach you can do. However, success begins with each individual invitation; Hispanics will thank you for reaching out to them. One of Imperial's regular patrons came to the States alone, while his family remained in Mexico. When his relatives finally arrived, one of the first things he did was to take them to the library to meet Imperial. I can't think of a better way he could have shown his appreciation.