Empowering Library Staff to Meet the Needs of the Spanish Speaking Community

Illinois State Library Diversity Program

DATE:   March 24, 2011

TIME:   10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

PLACE:  Lewis & Clark Library System
6725 Goshen Road, Edwardsville, IL
618-656-3215

Registration is free at L2 https://www.librarylearninginfo

PRESENTERS:    

  • Ms. Vandella Brown, Manager, Illinois State Library Diversity Program
  • Ms. Cheryl Goza Smith, Library Specialist, Illinois State Library Diversity Program
  • Mr. Jay Hildago, M.A.PSA, Dept of Health & Family Services, Bureau of Customer & Provider Assistance

REGISTRATION:  No Fee—Register on L2 

DESCRIPTION

This workshop is for all library staff. Participants will:

1. Learn about the challenges and benefits of reaching out to serve the Spanish speaking community and increasing their access to public library computers and resources. There will be a presentation about Hispanic/Latino culture, behavior and values; how we learn about the culture; and how that culture impacts our behaviors and perceptions.

2. Learn the differences and strengths in communication styles of the Spanish speaking community. Learn how to build strong community partnerships and collaborate with the Spanish speaking community to increase their access to public library computers and resources.

3.  Learn techniques for reaching out and marketing the public library and their resources to the Spanish-speaking community. Develop an action plan for reaching out to the Spanish-speaking community.

Black History Month 2011 – Calendar of Events

The Illinois State Library Diversity Program is excited about their new series of diversity programs for February 2011. You will find a complete copy of the Black History Month 2011 events’ schedule compiled and developed by for the Illinois State Library’s Diversity Program and participating partners posted on the WJIL Diversity Program page.

Most events are free or are otherwise noted.   Please share this information with others.  Your are  invited  to attend any or all of these sessions. Please come to two events at the Illinois State Library:

  • February 17 – 12 noon-1:00 p.m. – Diversity Café: Harriet Tubman Re-enactment.  Portrayal by Kathryn Harris, Library Services Director, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library.  Illinois State Library, Gwendolyn Brooks Building, Authors Room, 1st Floor.  Free Admission.
  • February 24 – 12 noon-1:00 p.m. – Diversity Café:  New Philadelphia: First Biracial Community on the Illinois Frontier.  New Philadelphia, Illinois was incorporated by Free Frank McWorter in 1836 when slavery was still law.  The town stands as a biracial legacy to white and black people working together to build a community on the Illinois prairie. Presented by Mr. Terrance Martin, Curator of Anthropology and Ms. Claire Martin, Research Assistant, at the Illinois State Museum, who will discuss the history and new findings.   Illinois State Library, Gwendolyn Brooks Building, Authors Room, 1st Floor.  Free Admission.

If you have any questions regarding any of the programs, please contact the Diversity Program office at 217-557-0136.

Mission Critical: Service to Spanish Speakers

The upcoming WebJunction Webinar Mission Critical: Services to Spanish Speakers is scheduled for Wednesday 5/26/2010 beginning at 12:00 PM Central Time.

Join this WebJunction webinar, the third in a series presented in collaboration with REFORMA. Now more than ever, programs for Spanish speakers at libraries around the country are seeing record attendance and positive feedback from participants. Find out how your outreach efforts and your community can help position the *library as critical* in the eyes of stakeholders and decision makers.

Come hear practical, successful examples of library services targeted to new immigrants, including English Language Learning (ELL), computer instruction, children’s concurrent programming, Life Skills workshops and resources, GED workshops, family literacy programming, and how to successfully communicate with library decision-makers, staff, community leaders and officials.

Presenters for this webinar include Emily A. Klopstein, Senior Librarian, Hampden Branch of the Denver Public Library; Loida Garcia-Febo, REFORMA President 2009-2010, and assistant coordinator for the New Americans Program and special services at the Queens Library; and Carol Brey-Casiano, Director of Libraries, El Paso Public Library, Past-President of ALA, and Chair of ALA/ Committee on Library Advocacy.

Visit L2 for registration information.

Empowering Library Staff to Meet the Needs of the Spanish Speaking Community

The Illinois State Library Diversity Program Presents

Diversity

“Empowering Library Staff to Meet the Needs of the Spanish Speaking Community”

DATE: March 26, 2010
TIME:  10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
PLACE:  Bloomington Public Library
205 E Olive St., Bloomington, IL 61702-3308
(309) 828-6091

PRESENTERS:  
Vandella Brown, Manager, Illinois State Library Diversity Program
Cheryl Goza Smith, Library Specialist, Illinois State Library Diversity Program

REGISTRATION:  No Fee—Register at  www.Librarylearning.info

DESCRIPTION
 
This workshop is for all library staff. Participants will:

  • Learn about the challenges and benefits of reaching out to serve the Spanish speaking community and increasing their access to public library computers and resources. There will be a presentation about Hispanic/Latino culture, behavior and values; how we learn about the culture; and how that culture impacts our behaviors and perceptions.
  • Learn the differences and strengths in communication styles of the Spanish speaking community. Learn how to build strong community partnerships and collaborate with the Spanish speaking community to increase their access to public library computers and resources.
  • Learn techniques for reaching out and marketing the public library and their resources to the Spanish-speaking community. Develop an action plan for reaching out to the Spanish-speaking community.

Diversity Program Updates

May 2009

May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.  It is celebrated during the first week in May to remember contributions of persons of Pacific Island descent and Asian descent in the United States.  In commemoration of Asian Pacific Heritage Month the Illinois State Library will host The Exhibition On Hindu Culture and Dharmic Traditions, May 1-29, on the 2nd floor. The exhibit is compiled by the organization Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh U.S.A.

The exhibit covers many aspects of cultures, inventions, and innovations from India’s diaspora.  The speaker, Asha Chandak, will discuss the “Roles of the Hindi Women” May 28, 2009 at 12:00 Noon to 1:00 p.m. in the Illinois Authors Room.  The program is free and open to the public.

June 2009

The Gwendolyn Brooks  Exhibit: A Chronology of the Life and Accomplishments of Illinois Poet and Author Gwendolyn Brooks 1917-2000.  This local exhibit explores Brooks’ life, lists over 20 published works, and includes photographs.  On display June 1-30, 2009 on the 2nd Floor of the Illinois State Library. Browse the selected bibliography for Gwendolyn Brooks on WJIL.

Celebrate Poetry Month, 2009 with Rosina Neginsky

Rosina NeginskyThe Illinois State Library Diversity Program presents CELEBRATE POETRY MONTH 2009 with Rosina Neginsky. Ms. Neginsky will recite from the new poetry book “The Juggler” and is associate professor of Women’s Studies, English and Liberal Studies/Individual Option at the University of Illinois at Springfield. She has been named University Scholar for 2008-2009.

You are invited to attend the reading on April 14, 2009 from 12:00 Noon – 1:00 P.M. in the Illinois Authors Room of the Illinois State Library. Bring your lunch and learn. This event is free and open to the public.

Hispanic Heritage Month Display at the Illinois State Library

In recognition of Hispanic Heritage Month, the Milton Rogovin Traveling Exhibit is on display on the second floor of the State Library. The exhibit contains 19 remarkable images of everyday people at various points in their lives, and many of the photos are of Spanish speakers.

Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15-October 15) began in 1968 courtesy of a congressional proclamation. In 1988, it became a month-long celebration beginning on September 15, the anniversary of the independence of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Honduras. Spanish-speaking persons may be Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban or “other Spanish/Hispanic/Latino heritage” according to Census 2000.

ISL Diversity Program Celebrates Americana

This month the ISL Diversity Program is celebrating “Americana.” Americana refers to artifacts and culture of the United States pertaining to history as a result of the expansion toward the West in the United States. The University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign has an Americana collection relevant to 20th Century farm life.

The collection includes bulletins, handbooks, manufacturers’ catalogs and manuals pertaining to repair of trunks, plows, tractors, farm machinery, appliances, ranges and other items. For more information, visit the library web site and search “Americana”, then “Records and Manuscripts”.