Miss Today's Webinar?

Don't worry! You can still find out about Missoula's new English/ Spanish signs and all of the great SLO happening in Missoula, Stevensville and Dillon. The Webinar was archived on the WebJunction website. Listen to it by clicking on the link below and then come back to the blog and tell us what you are doing in your own library!

http://www.webjunction.org/slo-webinars/articles/content/60094033

Montana SLO Outreach Webinar

WebJunction May Webinar on Outreach Success Stories
Wednesday, May 13 12:00pm

Join three of your very own Montana librarians on May 13 for a free one-hour webinar, featuring real-world examples of successful Spanish Language Outreach. Amy Ling (North Valley Public Library), Marie Habener (Dillon Public Library) and Molly Ledermann (Missoula Public Library) will present the work they have done to sustain the momentum of WebJunction's Spanish Langauge Outreach project and discuss their ongoing strategies to assess community needs, make their libraries more welcoming, develop programming, and foster connections with Spanish-speaking communities. Montana librarians became involved with Spanish Language Outreach through participation in workshops in seven Montana communities. Since then, they have used the MTSLO blog to showcase those who continue to provide outreach activities, services and programs for Spanish speakers in their communities.

Register for this and other WebJunction events.

North Valley Updates

After reading the informative booklet from Web Junction "Latinos & Public Perception" and the book "Crash Course in Serving Spanish-Speakers", we got busy! We went to the phone book and began calling local social services as well as our regular Hispanic patrons; we asked lots of questions. We distributed packets of our library brochures translated into Spanish; we made a lot of prospective contacts, increasing our network considerably. Also, we discovered a great website to improve our Spanish language skills at our own pace. It is called www.livemocha.com
Is anyone familiar with it? You make friends with native speakers and help each other; we respond in Spanish; they respond back in English, then we correct each other to the best of our ability. There are certified instructors available, too. Great web site!
We are looking forward to our next fiesta - Seis de Mayo! (Since our Spanish Conversation Group regularly meets on Wednesday evenings, we decided to keep the same day of the week.) There are now 18 members of our group, with seven native Spanish speakers. A report and photo will soon follow. One more thing, we have implemented the Spanish Word of the Day and so far, so good. It helps to make learning fun!

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.