Boost Your Budget

By Haydee C. Hodis -- Críticas, 11/15/2005

One of the most pressing challenges for public libraries is to improve service to the growing number of Hispanic patrons while facing chronically low budgets or hefty budget cuts. According to Críticas's 2002 and 2004 public library surveys, Spanish-language budgets in larger libraries can be as low as 2% of total materials budgets. This can mean $13,464 on average, but equity in the budget line is still a problem.

As Latinos skip the large cities for jobs and homes in suburban areas like Goshen, IN, or West Hartford, CT, which hosted virtually no Latinos 20 years ago, many libraries have experienced a sudden influx of Spanish-speaking patrons. Librarians there are scratching their heads to figure out ways to raise money to serve their growing Hispanic communities.

Those of us who have been involved in Spanish-language collection development for a while, know that it takes more than experience, creativity, and enthusiasm to step up to this challenge. Learning how to apply for grants, conduct fundraisers, and secure community partnerships is as important as effectively identifying our patrons' needs so that limited resources don't go to waste.

Grant hunting

In tight economic times, securing grants can be even more competitive. But for those libraries that define their needs and seek out a range of options, grant funding, both from public and private sources, can help keep Spanish-language collections and services growing, even as budgets are trimmed. Nearly one in five of Críticas's 2004 public library survey respondents relied on such grants, with benefactors ranging from the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) to local governments and foundations, state library associations, and chapters of Friends of the Library USA.

In the Brightwood Branch of the Springfield City Library, MA, were I serve as manager, we have, over the years, used various National Endowment for the Humanities, LSTA, and local grants to address specific needs in the Hispanic community, mainly the language barrier, after-school homework programs, and teenage pregnancy and general health issues. Even during dire financial times, we have been able to sustain our Spanish-language collection and incorporate this external funding into the library's budget.

In 1999, we received the 21st Century Learning Center Initiative, a three-year grant with an annual budget of $31,974 aimed primarily at after school programs. In what has been perhaps our most successful partnership in recent years, we worked with the city's School and Parks and Recreation departments to bring academic and culturally enriching programs to schools and day care centers. We were also able to expand our Spanish-language collection, extend library hours and staff, and offer an array of cultural programs featuring music, a film series, and guest speakers like Puerto Rican memoirist Esmeralda Santiago.

There are many success stories like this one, but the biggest challenge for librarians remains inexperience in grant writing and fundraising. A 2003 study by the Illinois Library Community Foundation found that although librarians are familiar with the "philanthropic capacity of their communities," there is often either "internal resistance or lack of practical skills" needed to land external funds. A good source of grant-writing tips and information on U.S. philanthropy is the Foundation Center, a nonprofit dedicated to helping grant-seekers. (See below for more Tips to Successful Grant-writing, Community Partnerships, and Fundraising)

Once you get a grant to expand your Spanish-language collection, make sure you advertise new holdings. Engaging the community and boosting Hispanic patronage will help you secure future grants. Ann Hokanson, library director at the Austin P.L., says federal grant funds from the LSTA, which allowed them to jump-start their Spanish-language ESL and video collections, spearheaded a dramatic increase in library usage by Hispanic. Besides the new resources, Hokanson attributes this to a combination of "regular advertising in the Spanish-language local newspaper, liberal circulation policies (i.e., no limits on the number of videos, three-week circulation periods), and Latino staff at the circulation desk during evenings and weekends." Hokanson is confident that these measurable results will make a good case for future grant applications.

A lucrative alliance

Seeking help from the community and the public and private sectors can also pay off. The Texas Book Festival (TBF), started by first lady Laura Bush in 1995, has become the largest private funding source for Texas libraries, contributing $1.65 million to public libraries throughout the state. In 2004, TBF raised $125,000 in grant monies through book sales, special events, sponsorships, and exhibits. Grants of up to $5,000 were presented to 41 libraries, 21 of which were first-time recipients.

For Tammy Pineda, the Spanish outreach liaison at the Hennepin County Library in Minnetonka, MN, a combination of fundraising and partnerships has proven very effective. Pineda, who served as the president of REFORMA's Minnesota Chapter from 2004–05, gets free textbooks and children's books from the Mexican Consulate. She also recommends librarians contact the Midwest Migrant Educational Resource Center, an organization that assists school districts in Iowa, Montana, and North and South Dakota in meeting the educational needs of migrant children. "If a classroom has one migrant farm worker's child, this organization will give out free books to that class for all to use," says Pineda. "Many rural libraries may want to look into this."

Corporate partners can also be a good source of funding. For this year's Day of the Child/Día de los Niños, Pineda approached the local Target, Wal-Mart, and Starbucks, as well as the Minnesota Humanities Commission to get funds for giveaway books for the programs. Target, for instance, offers $1,000 to $3,000 literacy grants, mainly for programs that inspire the youngest readers (birth through third grade).

The El Paso P.L. in Texas has also benefited from partnerships with local businesses and the Mexican Consulate. Since she is serving a 97% Hispanic community, library literacy coordinator Martha A. Toscano gets textbooks for school children and for adult literacy programs from the consulate. Although the library has a built-in literacy budget of $60,000, Toscano seeks extra resources at the private level. More than 40 local businesses contribute every year to their Día de los Niños event, funding activities, and a free book per kid. When asked about sources of funding, Martha says, she approaches retail chains like Mervyn's, Walt-Mart, and Sam's Club, as well as the local police and the Parks and Recreation departments, local newspapers, and Univision. Her best advice: "Don't be afraid of being turned down…just keep asking."

Help wanted: Low-budget staffing

Even if you have the monetary resources to improve your Spanish services, without a Spanish speaker on staff, your library won't go far. Although recent initiatives spearheaded by the American Library Association (ALA) through Spectrum, the Gates Library Foundation, and most recently Prism have propelled the recruitment of Latino librarians, the numbers are still less than satisfactory. According to Críticas's "Wanted: Latino Librarians," for every 9,177 Latinos there's only one Latino librarian, as opposed to one white, non-Latino librarian for every 1,830 white non-Latinos.

If you are not bilingual and have no resources to hire Spanish-speaking staff, consider using library support staff and volunteers to help you translate promotional material and organize bilingual or Spanish programs. Most urban systems have Spanish-speaking staff members, however, even if they aren't Latino. Laura Randolph, the children's services librarian at the Rochester P.L., MN, has become the official cuentista (storyteller) at the library. "I have a Spanish degree so one day my supervisor asked me if I would be willing to do Story Time in Spanish. Now, I've basically become the Spanish liaison to the community," says Randolph.

Another approach is to encourage your alma mater or the advisory boards of library schools to add a one-credit course on "Spanish for Librarians" to their curriculums. Some library systems have started their own language training by tapping professional resources among their staff or by producing language instruction videos.

Collection development: Hit your mark

One of the downsides to supporting Spanish-language purchases through grants and fundraisers is that they don't last forever, making planning difficult. Marisa Abramo, the principal librarian at the newly renovated National City P.L. in California, just got one-time funds of about $1.2 million for collections. Her staff increased the Spanish-language offerings at the library roughly tenfold, to over 10,000 titles, but for a community estimated to be 70% Latino, Abramo is concerned about sustaining the collection. "These dollar signs are one-time monies and they will disappear after December 31st of this year!" she exclaims. Because sustainability is a problem when supporting a collection with outside funding, it is critical to identify your community's needs in order to spend resources wisely.

Find out how diverse your patronage is in terms of age, country of origin, socioeconomic background, and informational needs. Visit local restaurants, churches, and markets; find out what's selling at local bookstores and kiosks; ask your patrons for input regarding reading interests and informational needs. Interviewing colleagues who serve a similar demographic about the materials that circulate in their libraries can also be helpful.

If you cannot travel to industry events like the Guadalajara International Book Fair, make sure to check out the fair's website for a list of 4,000 recently published, "essential" titles selected by a committee of ALA and Mexican librarians. Book distributors such as the Bilingual Publications Company also offer lists like "The Top 100 Titles for Starting a Spanish-language Collection."

Of course, the work doesn't end with selecting and purchasing the right materials. Promote your collection with appropriate en español signage and thorough outreach. You don't need a huge budget to make a difference.

Hodis is the manager of the Brightwood, Liberty, and East Springfield libraries in Springfield, MA. She is also REFORMA's Northeast Chapter Massachusetts Coordinator.