Give ‘Em What They Want—How Melrose Park Got its Spanish-language Collection Right

By Todd Douglas Quesada -- Críticas, 2/4/2008

Many small public libraries throughout the nation are needing to adapt to rapidly changing demographics, some in particular indicating an increase in use by Spanish-speaking patrons. Like many U.S. communities, Melrose Park, IL, has experienced a sudden and dramatic demographic shift within one decade. The 2000 U.S. Census reported that 53.9 percent of the town’s total population identified themselves as Hispanic, a statistic that is no doubt rising and includes many Spanish speakers.

Prior to 2005, the Melrose Park Public Library (MPPL) Spanish-language collection was of significant size in proportion to the rest of the collection; however, much of the material was outdated or purely academic- and life-skills based. By August 2005, we had come to realize that MPPL could not cope effectively for this demographic change, and that an expeditious strategy was needed to quickly bring the collection up to speed and reach these new users. We decided to depart from previous practice and offer what these users might want first and then follow with what they might need. This choice transformed both our collection and how enthusiastically it gets used.

The makeover

First, though, we had a basic marketing problem to solve. The collection was located against a wall behind nearly ten rows of bookcases and had no obvious signage pointing to its location, blending in with the rest of the library’s holdings and indistinguishable to the Spanish-speaking library users. This location was chosen purely because it was where space was available. This in and of itself was valid, and because there was still room to move, we stuck with it for the expansion.

We simultaneously noted that aggressive signage was crucial for the Spanish speakers to know where to find the collection. This called for an aesthetic makeover, one of three specific approaches to our transformation of the Spanish-language collection.

Using attractive signage that has imagery that would be instantly familiar to most Spanish-speaking patrons, such as famous sites in Mexico or Puerto Rico, or portraits of such icons as Frida Kahlo, José Martí, or Rigoberta Menchú, borrows from the concept dating back at least to the writings of Leone Battista Alberti’s De re aedificatoria in the 15th century, which emphasized adorning libraries with the images of renowned literary figures. We appropriated the concept to draw Spanish-speaking patrons to the collection, enhancing it with bold lettering indicating fiction and non-fiction, audio books, DVD’s, and more.

Then we polled our patrons. A survey was designed to obtain the most information from the patron with the least amount of effort. It consisted of two parts, the first used general multiple choice questions to explore levels of satisfaction with the collection, followed by subjects that the user felt needed more attention. The second half consisted of an open-ended opportunity to comment on preferred authors and general suggestions. In the responses we discovered a reflection of our belief that there was an unmet demand for pop-culture materials. Nearly every survey returned indicated a desire for more Spanish translations of New York Times best sellers. This provided clarity on how to proceed with the third strategy in reshaping the Spanish-language collection—to enhance the DVD and CD collections.

We aggressively expanded and promoted those collections in order to increase the likelihood that the patrons’ information necessities would be serviced and thus entice them to frequent the library—rather than the music or video store—for their entertainment needs.

Going mainstream

The tastes of Spanish-speaking communities across the United States can range widely from translations of U.S. best-selling authors to traditional Spanish and Latin American literature. Thus, it is more important for the public librarian to develop a balanced core collection of Spanish-language materials optimally designed for a high rate of circulation for the community before delving too profoundly into collecting the classics. Once a core collection with proven circulation numbers is at work in your community, it’s time to start to allot a portion of acquisitions to materials considered to be “high” or classic literature.

Aside from a small concentration of long-time Cuban and Puerto Rican residents, the Spanish-speaking population in Melrose Park is largely comprised of recent Mexican and Central American immigrants, most of whom we can presume arrive with the hopes of advancing their lives educationally, economically, and socially. Therefore, need-based and life skills-based materials are an important element of any public library Spanish-language collection. Examples of such topics would be up-to-date materials on citizenship, job search, and education (e.g.: GED test-prep or commercial driver’s license exams). At MPPL, we collect current versions Test-prep guides, including official and advisory guides regarding the path to U.S. citizenship. The library is also in the process of acquiring life skills-based DVDs to assist in adapting to U.S. society and culture.

A purely life-skills based collection would be useful, but it would turn off patrons seeking pop-culture or current materials. Possessing a balanced collection of popular materials is a potent means for developing patron use. If a patron knows that he or she can check out a desired Shakira or Juanes CD from the library, this affords greater exposure of what the library offers as a whole. Then, if that same patron needs information on the American citizenship exam, for instance, it is likely he or she will first consult the library’s collection.

A large portion of the pre-2005 Spanish-language collection already consisted of life-skills based material, and it was generally underused. After we embraced the idea of developing a pop collection, the circulation numbers increased drastically. From November 2005, when the library started to keep statistics on Spanish-language DVD circulation, to May of 2006, there was an average monthly circulation of 134 DVDs in Spanish. This total is significant because for the majority of this time period, the Spanish-language DVD collection consisted of fewer than 100 films. This means that on average each item was checked out more than once, handily out-circulating the English-language DVD collection of nearly 1000 DVDs during that same period.

As of October 2007, the Spanish-language DVDs collection has more than doubled in size, placing it among largest of its kind in any small public library in the Chicago metropolitan area. [We have cross-referenced our catalog with the catalogs of all member libraries in the Metropolitan Library System, the entire Chicago Public Library system, and the DuPage County Library system. We cannot find a figure approaching our current holdings of nearly 300 Spanish and Latin-American films.] In 2006, the general monthly circulation statistics for the Spanish-language CD and DVD collection reveal an increase of 1700 items, on average, over the same month the previous year. As of the beginning of 2007, monthly DVD circulation numbers have risen to an average of 295 instances with a collection of about 235 DVDs. (This statistic does not include interlibrary loan requests.)

Concurrently, the library made a conscious decision to greatly amplify the fiction collection. From 2005 to 2007 it has doubled in size, and the circulation figures have risen accordingly. Circulation of Spanish-language fiction (excluding inter-library loans) from September to December of 2005 averaged 42 items per month has risen to 67 items over the same period in 2007—an increase of over 50 percent.

Getting the information you need

The MPPL experience illustrates how to effectively attract a larger portion of the Spanish-speaking patronage to the library’s need-based resources by way of an eclectic range of entertainment sources. But to get a more concrete idea of what kinds of general nonfiction subjects may appeal to Hispanics/Spanish-speakers, it is useful to look at general commonalities and survey your potential users.

While keen consideration of a community’s attributes can yield ideas for life-skills nonfiction, keeping in touch with Latino media outlets is an excellent way for a public librarian to read the pulse of materials in demand by the community. To do this, you can simply frequent the same media outlets (newspapers, magazines, online resources) that Latinos would normally visit to find the hot seller that would undoubtedly be a hot circulator. Thus, just as in with any form of collection development, it is important for the librarian to familiarize him/herself with the proper media outlets. Several places to start include Univision’s best sellers, put out by the dominant Spanish-language media entity in the United States; Ya.com, a massive media outlet headquartered in Spain but with abundant Latin American materials; and Arena Cultural, a cultural publication affiliated with Chicago’s La Raza newspaper. Irrespective of any potential language barrier, there are visual cues to any media outlet that will indicate an item that is in demand.

Finally, interaction with patrons, via conversations or by way of a (bilingual) survey is extraordinarily useful even if the results arrive piece-meal (one person per survey). Surveying helps temper the persistent temptation to predetermine Hispanics’/Spanish-speakers’ information needs and wants. If there’s a language barrier present, the survey route will help by providing a written explanation (that you can get translated if necessary) of what a library user is looking for. Effective approaches in public library collection development result in a marked bolstering of raw circulation statistics. Therefore, interaction with patrons is vital.

The reality that the growing numbers of Spanish-speaking library users will permanently alter the dynamic of collection development for public libraries great and small necessitates a reassessment of the process as a whole to accommodate this demographic shift. This brief illustration of the experiences of our small public library in Melrose Park will hopefully assist other small public libraries in accomplishing the same task.