Bruce Jensen

Jensen lives at the bottom of Texas near the banks of the Río Bravo. He learned Librarianship (or Information Studies, if you like) at UCLA. He has worked in public libraries in the U.S. and Mexico, and for six years as an online reference librarian. Publications include pieces in Library Journal, RUSQ, and Críticas, and the books The Changing Culture of Libraries, The Power of Language/El poder de la palabra, Revolting Librarians Redux, and Digital versus Non-Digital Reference. In addition to the MLIS, Jensen holds an MA in Teaching English as a Second Language and a BA in English. He has taught ESL off and on since 1992, working with immigrants, college students, and inmates in the U.S., Japan, and Mexico, and he has a pocketful of library cards from all those places.

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Thanks for eight wonderful years

January 28, 2009 | Link This | Email this | Comments (1)

In early 2001 some of us were thrilled to hear of the launch of a major new magazine devoted to books in Spanish. The charming chica in the blog next door, Adriana, put out a call for reviewers. In short order she sent to the shack a shrink-wrapped copy of La caverna, the new novel by recent Nobel laureate José Saramago. The deal was that I could read it, which was a joy, and then return it along with my review, whereupon the book comes back and I get to keep it. A year later I got to see Saramago in the flesh.

I was instantly hooked on Críticas. So were many other readers and contributors who loved the work t...Read More
Industries: Inside Publishing, Latest Reviews, News, Opinion, Serving Spanish Speakers

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Wisconsin asks, "Is Spanish the new German?"

January 25, 2009 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)

An article about some brilliant-sounding library discussions up in Fond du Lac, "Hispanic program travels immigration road" in The Reporter, reminds me that it's been a whole year already since we visited Wisconsin's ¡Hola! program in the dead of winter.

This week's story features Gabriela and Paco Delatorre who spoke at the Fond du Lac library about moving to the foot of Lake Winnebago from Texas five years ago and establishing a successful business ...Read More
Industries: Serving Spanish Speakers

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Children in No Man's Land a gut-wrenching look at the border

January 21, 2009 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)

Panama-born filmmaker Anayansi Prado focuses on immigrants to the US. Maybe you've seen her Maid In America on public television and strongly recommended in the pages of Críticas.

Her new documentary from Impacto Films is about the littlest victims of the far-from-imaginary line that is the US-Mexico border. Children in No Man's Land/Niños en tierra de nadie opens with scenes from Nogales, the twin cities that straddle the Arizona-Sonora bord...Read More
Industries: Latest Reviews, New to the Market - Adult, Video

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Targeted Philadelphia branches serve librarian-less schools

January 19, 2009 | Link This | Email this | Comments (1)

With all eyes on Washington DC this week, library woes a couple hours to the northeast in Philadelphia have not gone away. You'll recall that a $1 billion deficit led the mayor to announce the January 1 closure of eleven branches chosen in consultation with the library system's recently installed director. Public outcry ensued; a judge ruled that the mayor would need to, um, check with somebody before doing all that.

There may be no activists quite like public library activists, so last week saw a colorful public protest ("Great street theater," one local reporter raved) over director Siobhan Reardon's coping...Read More
Industries: Opinion

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Principles & Practices for Effective Multicultural Communication

January 14, 2009 | Link This | Email this | Comments (2)

A new, engagingly written report, published just last week, is fun to read and well worth your time. It's all about collaboration across cultures. Subtitled Principles & Practices for Effective Multicultural Communication—Library Edition, its thirty-some pages are right here.

No dry theoretical document, this. Each of its eight principles is illustrated with two real-life examples: one from the library world and one from the rest of the world. The authors even manage to mention PCUN, the groundbreaking agricultural workers' un...Read More
Industries: Serving Spanish Speakers

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