North Valley ESL Class update

The first ESL class of North Valley Public Library was completed today. There was a celebration "pot luck" with a variety of delicious ethnic dishes and desserts. We had a diverse group including staff, all ESL students, and even the President of the Library Board of Trustees and his wife. After a short break, ESL classes will begin in mid April.

The NVPL "Mesa de Conversacion" is going strong, with new participants attending every week. This week we will have our regular gathering at the Mexican restaurant "Fiesta en Jalisco" while Amy is having a Spanish conversation of her own in NICARAGUA!

Spanish Word of the Day

I think it would be great to have a Spanish "Word of the Day" or a "Phrase of the Day" to share with our staff. We have a short staff meeting every morning and that would be a wonderful time to share it, then email the word later that day for reinforcement. I've often thought of this, but need a boost from someone who knows Spanish. Any takers?

Learning Spanish

One of my goals this year is to re-start my efforts to learn Spanish. I can hardly wait! I know a few words in Spanish and took an 8-week course in 2007, but that is all. I may not be able to attend a class until the Fall, but it is on my "things to do" list after I get my Master's Degree this Spring. I am politely awkward when I encounter a Spanish-speaking patron. I can fumble through and the patrons are great about it, but I'd love to be more adept. Another member of our staff has been taking Spanish classes and I'm hoping we can start a trend. It will be a wonderful benefit to our patrons.

St.Valentine's Day Celebration at North Valley Public Library

In the Hispanic world it is called also "El Dia de la Amistad" and you don't have to be in love to celebrate. Based on that, we had a pot luck celebration on Feb. 14th, complete with a variety of ethnic dishes and participation by many people of Spanish speaking countries. The wonderful food ranged from mole negro from Oaxaca to tamales from Sinaloa, Mexico. Those participating included our Mexican American patrons as well as the President of our Library Board of Trustees and the President of the Friends of the Library.

Our local newspaper, Bitterroot Star, has printed the press release about our Spanish Conversation Group for five weeks and, as a result, each week we have had newcomers join us. Last week our group had our "mesa de conversation" at Fiesta en Jalisco, the local Mexican restaurant. We had a blast! Ordering in Spanish, tasting the delicious dishes and getting to know the newcomers to our group. Everyone has been spreading the word county-wide about our SLO at North Valley Library; the word is even "out" at the salsa exercise class in town!

Today we made contact with the Ravalli County Human Resource Council that agreed to distribute our promotional flyers for our ESL class along with our library brochure translated into Spanish. We also distributed brochures to the Stevensville Dept. of Motor Vehicles and Main Street Association.

Our resident Spanish "gem", Catalina, has also been helping with individual needs such as applying for energy assistance and creating resumes. We have extended our assistance as needed for translation situations for everyday unexpected occurrences, such as emergency dental needs. We are providing exceptional services to those patrons who are learning English.

SLO update from Stevensville - North Valley Public Library

Our SLO program is growing by leaps and bounds! Community response has been wonderful. We are receiving inquiries almost every day for the past two weeks due to the recent press releases for our new programs.
1. We began a free, 6 week ESL (English as a Second Language) class held at the library and received a initial positive response which continues to grow daily.
2. We also began our Spanish Conversation Group for those who already know some of the language but need practice. This group met at the library last week for the first time and there were 8 attendees. Since then there have been numerous inquiries from other interested people.
3. Serendipity brought us a new Mexican restaurant (Fiesta en Jalisco) across the street from our library. This has inspired interest in Hispanic culture from members of our community. Our Spanish Conversation Group already communicates with the Hispanic employees and will meet at the restaurant once a month.
4. Check out of our Spanish/English materials has increased significantly.
5. One of our patrons donated a subscription to People magazine in Espanol.
6. The staff learned how to change from English to Spanish language on most web sites.
7. Plans are underway for a pot luck gathering to celebrate St. Valentine's Day (as well as Cinco de Mayo) with the ESL class and the Spanish Conversation Group.
8. The BIGGEST news is our good fortune to have recruited a native Spanish teacher working short term at the library until she begins her Masters Program at the University of Montana. Her name is Catalina Gerner. Please welcome her to our SLO Blog.
Sincerely, Amy Ling

SLO News in Missoula

The Missoula Public Library has two exciting new additions to our Spanish Language Outreach efforts!

1. We've just received the first copy in our subscription to People en Español.

2. Next month we'll be starting a bi-monthly Talk Time, an informal conversation table for English language learners, facilitated by a TEFL-certified volunteer. Talk Time will be held on the first and third Tuesdays of every month at 7:00 p.m. We're working with the ESOL coordinator at Missoula's continuing education center and the English Language Institute at the University of Montana to help spread the word.

We are also already thinking ahead to programming for Spanish Heritage Month 2009 (Sept. 15-Oct. 15).

I'm curious to know what other libraries have in store for their SLO outreach in 2009!

SLO report from Dillon

Dillon City Library Final Spanish Language Outreach Grant Report

Although Dillon has completed spending the money given to us through the Spanish Language Outreach Grant, our involvement with area Hispanics has just begun! We hope to acquire more Spanish language materials to support the community and to make our Library relevant to their lives.

DCL posted signs regarding the availability of the grant money in our three Spanish restaurants in town – they are the places in town where Hispanics gather and frequent. We also took every opportunity we had in the Library to speak with our Hispanic users to see how they would like us to spend the grant money. Some of the early requests were for bilingual children’s books (picture books). We immediately purchased ten new bilingual titles. Moms have been very appreciative, so we will continue adding these books as our budget allows.

Though far from a complete or methodically sound canvass, we did get a considerable amount of information in response to our postings. The number one request of the respondents was for material to help them learn to speak better English. In response to this request, the Library purchased the Rosetta Stone software for learning English as a second language. The cost of the software was more than the grant money, but after discussing the matter at a Board meeting, we decided that we really needed to respond to their stated need if we wanted to become a relevant place for them to frequent.

Unfortunately, we cannot lend the software; it must be used in the Library at a library computer. Since all of our computers are in public spaces, talking out loud to practice speaking is not an ideal situation. In response to publicity, a Chinese family in town is also using this software. It is gratifying to know that we can provide useful materials and services to our immigrant populations, Hispanic or otherwise!

We completed translating our computer parental consent form. There was a $25.00 charge for having this form translated. Most of the current Hispanic youth had already obtained their parental consent forms, so I imagine it will be next summer when new migrant workers arrive in the area before we will be able to utilize the forms. When I presented the form to our Board of Trustees, one of the Board members, Michael Riley, informed us that he is fluent in Spanish and would be more than happy to begin translating our other brochures. So, for no extra money we will soon have all of our library brochures and forms translated into Spanish.

The Spanish Language Outreach Grant has definitely provided a jump-start for the Library to become a place that will better serve the minorities in our community.