Spanish in Arizona's public libraries?

Regardless of my position or employer, providing excellent customer service is always my first goal. As a result, I found the report by Flores and Pachon (2008), Latinos and Public Library Perceptions, to be interesting and the recommendations helpful. I appreciate concrete, practical suggestions like those found on page 15, which read as follows:

1.  Get to know your Latino community.

2.    Advertise the library as a place to learn English.

3.    Advertise public access to computers and availability of general information.

4.    Inform the community that the library does not share library user information.

Not controversial at all in my mind, but we do live in Arizona, after all. In order to implement these suggestions effectively, at a minimum, announcements would need to be published in English and Spanish, and I wasn’t sure if Proposition 103 and/or 300, passed overwhelmingly by Arizona voters in 2006, precluded this. 

And I have many more questions: Can a public library hire bilingual staff? Can advertisements for services be placed in Spanish-language media? Can Spanish-language posters and signage be hung in the public library? GED classes are offered; can English as a Second Language (ESL) classes by offered as well? 

There are so many interpretations – and misinterpretations – about what is allowed that I decided I should just read the propositions themselves. I found a website to help me do just that.

Ballotpedia’s mission is to “cultivate thriving citizenship through the free and open sharing of information” (Our Mission, 2012).  Based on Wikipedia’s model, information, corrections, additions, etc. can be added by anyone that registers, though there is a small staff to handle fact checking, and write entries and updates as needed. The focus is on candidates and ballot measure that don’t receive a lot of attention.  Here is a summary of what I learned.

Arizona English as the Official Language, Proposition 103 was approved November 7, 2006 by 74% of the voters. It states that all official actions of Arizona state and local government have to be conducted in English (Introductory paragraph; Election results, 2012). Six exceptions are allowed:

1.    When required by federal law or when necessary to preserve the right to petition the government.

2.   In teaching languages other than English, or in using or preserving Native American languages.

3.   In actions to protect the public health and safety, including law enforcement and emergency services, or to protect the rights of crime victims and criminal defendants.

4.   Providing assistance to hearing impaired or illiterate persons.

5.   In informal or nonbinding communications or translations among or between government officials and the public.

6.   For actions necessary for tourism, commerce or international trade.

 (Text of measure, 2012)

It goes on to say “Proposition 103 would prohibit discrimination against a person because the person uses English in any public or private communication” though I can’t imagine that this has been a problem.

Arizona Public Program Eligibility, Proposition 300, calling for the verification of the immigration status of persons who are applying for state-funded services, was approved by 71.4% of the voters (Introductory paragraph; Election results, 2012).  There are 6 provisions:

1. Provides that only United States citizens, legal residents or persons otherwise lawfully present in this country are eligible to participate in adult education classes offered by the Arizona Department of Education.

2. Provides that in accordance with the federal Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, a person who is not a United States citizen or legal resident and who does not otherwise possess lawful immigration status in this country may not be classified as an in-state student or county resident for community college or state university tuition purposes.

3. Provides that a state university or community college student who is not a United States citizen and who does not otherwise possess lawful immigration status in this country is not entitled to waivers, grants or any other financial assistance paid in whole or part with state funds.

4. Restricts eligibility for childcare assistance from the Arizona Department of Economic Security to parents, guardians and caretakers who are United States citizens, legal residents or persons otherwise lawfully present in this country.

5. Requires that the family literacy program, the adult education class requirements, the state university and community college financial assistance requirements and the child care assistance program be enforced without regard to race, religion, gender, ethnicity or national origin.

6. Requires that the state agencies administering the provisions of Proposition 300 report statistics regarding the number of persons denied participation in the above described programs due to citizenship or immigration status.

 (Text of measure, 2012)

The argument in support of passage, authored by State Treasurer Dean Martin (Support, 2012), was based on his belief that illegal immigrants are a financial drain on Arizona. Even if this were true, libraries, though supported primarily by government sources, offer their services free to everyone.  There is no citizenship test or fee and, if these requirements were implemented, I predict that the outcry would be deafening.

Based on the approved wording in both propositions, there should be no difficulty putting into place the recommendations by Flores and Pachon within an Arizona public library.

These propositions are the outgrowth of the English-only movement that has been around for several centuries and unfortunately isn’t going away any time soon.  There is, however, more and more research available about the advantages to being bilingual. For example, Ellen Bialystok, a cognitive neuroscientist, has found that being bilingual helps with multi-tasking and forestalls the symptoms of Alzheimer’s (Dreifus, 2011).

In a story aired on NPR, reporter Gretchen Cuda-Kroen (2011) states that not only is being bilingual good for your brain, in an interconnected world, the ability to speak more than one language is an advantage.  Ms. Cuda-Kroen continues “Approximately one-fifth of Americans speak a non-English language at home and globally, as many as 2/3rds of children are brought up bilingual.”

As the Pima County Public Libraries continue to fulfill their mission of “enriching lives and building community through opportunities to learn, know, interact, and grow” (About Us, 2012) in their quiet, effective way and the Latino population in the state continues to grow, the English-only movement may start to fade for the benefit of us all.

References

Ballotpedia. (2012). About. Retrieved from http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/Ballotpedia:About

Ballotpedia. (2012). Arizona English as the official language, proposition 103 (2006). Retrieved from http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/Arizona_English_as_the_Official_Language,_Proposition_103_(2006)

Ballotpedia. (2012). Arizona public program eligibility, proposition 300 (2006). Retrieved from http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/Arizona_Public_Program_Eligibility,_Proposition_300_(2006)

Cuda-Kroden, G. (2011, April 4). Being bilingual may boost your brain power. NPR Morning Edition. Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/2011/04/04/135043787/being-bilingual-may-boost-your-brain-power

Dreifus, C. (2011, May 30). The bilingual advantage. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/31/science/31conversation.html

Flores, E. and Pachon, H. (2008). Latinos and Public Library Perceptions. Tomás Rivera Policy Institute in partnership with OCLC, Dublin, OH.

Pima County Public Library. (2012). About us: Mission, vision & values. Retrieved from http://www.library.pima.gov/about/mission/

Of course librarians can play basketball!

I always take the time to look over the references of the articles I read and found one that was very intriguing listed on page 181 of Latinos and Librarianship by Salvador Guereña and Edward Erazo.  Titled Can Librarians Play Basketball?, I just knew I had to check it out.

It is a 1999 article about the 'newly-formed' Spectrum Initiative, an effort by the American Library Association (ALA) to recruit individuals from underrepresented groups to consider an advanced degree in library science. To that end, a series of posters and other recruitment materials had been produced showing diverse groups of people in non-library settings with the tagline: Library Careers are as diverse as You!

One poster featured a young man holding a basketball, hence the title of the article.

The Spectrum Initiative is a scholarship and mentorship program. Student Tracie Hall was one of the 50 students in the initial cohort who was interviewed for the article. I thought I would see if I could find out what she is doing now.

From the Florida State University/School of Information and Library Science website, I learned that Tracie is a member of their National Advisory Board for Project LEAD.  They posted a short biography so I also discovered that she is currently the Assistant Dean of the Graduate School of Library and Information Studies at Dominican University in River Forest, IL after serving a stint as the Director of the ALA Office of Diversity.  Prior to that, Tracie was the manager and community librarian of the Albany Branch of the Hartford Public Library and young adult librarian at the New Haven Free and Seattle Public Libraries. Wow!

I found a list of the other members of that original cohort on the ALA website and discovered that one of them attended the University of Arizona. Her name is Rita Pino-Vargas and she is mentioned in an article written in 2009 by then ALA president Camila Alire announcing the Spectrum Fundraising Presidential Initiative (a $1 million goal in support of the program).

According to Ms. Alire, Rita was (and may still be) the librarian at Sky City Community School/Pueblo of Acoma in New Mexico. She had volunteered with ALA in several capacities including serving on the Newberry, Caldecott and Pura Belpré award committees, and was also past president of Reforma’s New Mexico chapter.

My guess is that if I did a search for Knowledge River graduates, a University of Arizona program similar to the Spectrum Initiative, I would find similar results.

And those posters?  Though a very catchy marketing campaign, the authors suggest that the best recruitment tool is one-on-one: seeing potential in and personally encouraging a promising individual to consider/apply/participate/succeed. I suspect that this is as true today as it was back in 1999 when the article was first published.

References

Alire, C. (2009) Spectrum’s $1-Million Challenge. American Libraries Online. Retrieved from http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/columns/presidents-message/spectrum’s-1-million-challenge

Watkins, C. & Abif, K. (1999). Can Librarians Play Basketball? American Libraries, 30(3), 58-61.

You Never Know What You Will Find

When I go online, I am usually looking for something specific. However, it’s easy for me to follow the thread of an idea, jumping from one website to another until I can’t remember what I was looking for in the first place.  It usually doesn’t matter because inevitably I will end up discovering a gem.

This is certainly true of the Nerdy Book Club blog. I don’t know how I stumbled on it but I am so glad I did.  Created by Donalyn Miller, Cindy Minnich and Colby Sharp (do you think that is his real name or did his parents like cheese?) and aided by 60+ booklovers from around the country, I enjoy the posts and always learn something new.

A contribution by Katherine Sokolowski caught my eye: Top Ten Books to Share. Ms. Sokolowski has been teaching for 14 years and reads out loud a lot during the school year to her 5^th grade students.  Since I will be embarking soon on my new adventure as a Reading Seed coach, I thought that her suggestions might prove helpful.  I went to the Pima County Public Library website, searched out some of the titles and reserved them a week ago. They were delivered to the Geasa-Marana Branch Library, where I picked them up today.

I read Babymouse, Queen of the World over lunch. The first in a series created by brother-sister team Jennifer and Matthew Holm, the story follows the main character as she learns a lesson about true friendship. The cartoon format, utilizing clear, simple illustrations, the color pink and a heart motif, along with the book’s size and cover flaps, makes it stand out on the shelf. I can easily imagine a room full of children eagerly waiting to see what happens on the next page.  The latest in the series is Babymouse for President – the perfect book to read in October leading up to the election!

I then turned my attention to What You Know First by Patricia McLachlan. I am familiar with the author, having read Sarah, Plain and Tall, a Newberry Award winner, many years ago.  Here is what Ms. Sokolowski said in her review of the book:

This is my first read aloud of the year on the first day of school. It is also my last read aloud on the last day of school. I like the idea of talking about what we bring to the class on that first day and then talking about what we know that we are taking with us on the last day. It never fails to make me cry. I think it is the simplistic-ness of the text. I believe it is one of the most beautiful books ever written and I want my students to see the beauty of books to start and end the year with me.

I cried too. It IS beautiful – the engravings by Barry Moser are amazing! I could see reading this book, then asking the young students I am coaching “tell me what you remember first” and learning a lot about them from that conversation. The problem? I’m not sure I can get through it without bawling. Maybe if I practice….a lot….

Book Review: Till Death Do Us Bark

When I was young, I would read anything and everything. Now, with limited free time and a desire to fill my head and heart with as much peace and laughter as possible, I am much more selective about the books I buy or check out of the library. This is the reason that you will usually find me in the children’s or teen sections browsing through titles.

On a recent trip to the Geasa-Marana Branch Library, I pulled a book off the shelf whose title caught my eye: Till Death Do Us Bark (anyone who knows me will not be surprised by this).

I didn’t realize until I got home that it was Book Three in the 43 Old Cemetery Road series by Kate Klise.  It didn’t matter, however, since each book can stand on its own. A quick introduction to the characters was provided in the first couple of pages and then I was off and running.

43 Old Cemetery Road is the address of the Spence Mansion located in the town of Ghastly, Illinois. The author has a great deal of fun with puns and other word tricks designed to test your sense of humor and make sure you are paying attention. For example: our hero's name is Seymour Hope; one of the attorneys in town is Brad Pitbuhl; M. Balm is the librarian; the editor of the Ghastly Times is Cliff Hanger; the Bank of Ghastly, run by Fay Tality, is located on Scary Street. You get the idea.

The story is told through a series of letters and newspaper articles. Noah Breth, the richest man in town, passes away and makes his children, Kannine and Kitty, read a series of limericks that provide clues about their inheritance. Valuable lessons are learned along the way punctuated by wonderful illustrations by Sarah Klise.

The Klise sisters have collaborated on a number of books for children and won numerous awards – and many loyal readers – as a result. You can learn more about them by visiting their website at http://www.kateandsarahklise.com/ Make sure you check out Kate’s Top Ten Tips for Becoming a Bestselling Author and Sarah’s Top Seven Drawing and Writing Tips.

Why the word bark in the title? An Afghan hound named Secret plays a key role – and that’s all I can say without spoiling the surprise ending. Next time I am in the library I am going to look for Book One: Dying to Meet You and Book Two: Over My Dead Body.  I am now a Klise Sisters fan.

Books Now, Books Forever

My friend Mary Jo gave me a book for my birthday called Unpacking My Library: Writers and Their Books. Edited by Leah Price, it is combination of author interviews, photographs of their book collections/bookshelves and the covers of their top ten favorite books.

The format is question and answer, which explains why Ms. Price is listed as editor rather than author. I have compiled a few of the questions and thought that it would be fun to answer them.

Q: How far back does your collection stretch? At what age did you start buying books? Which ones have you kept, and shed, as you moved?

I have a few books from childhood, including Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne and a book of poems.

When I was in the fifth grade, my teacher, Miss Coye, would pass out a “catalog” from Scholastic Books two or three times a year. I would pour over it and, with my mom’s permission, order books. Miss Coye would compile the order and send it in – a few weeks later a big box would arrive. I remember the thrill of being handed the books I had ordered and would wait patiently for school to end so that I could rush home to examine them carefully and choose one to read. I still own the copy of Jane Eyre I acquired this way.

            I reluctantly shed college textbooks but, really, am I ever going to look at the algebra text from a class I took in 1972? Many books were shed for me – left in storage as I moved around and lost/discarded by the folks I had entrusted them to. I still mourn for them.

Q: What books are not on the shelves you allowed us to photograph? What books do you keep in the kitchen, in the bathroom, on the bedside table?

            I have books in different areas around the house. Any book on the bedside table is the one I am currently reading along with a couple of magazines and/or catalogs (Arizona Highways, Bark, Vermont Country Store). I read when I first settle into bed, though sometimes I end up “reading” the same paragraph over and over again for week or more.

Q: What do you imagine your library looking like five, ten, twenty years from now? Do you think you’ll still own objects made of paper and glue?

            I still have quite a few boxes of books stored out in the garage. Someday I hope to get them all inside so that I can see and touch them, and reunite all of my old friends.

            There will always be books because there is nothing like the experience of holding one in your hands and turning the pages.

Q: How do you arrange, or attempt to arrange, your books? How do you know how to find them on the shelf? Does this resemble the way you arrange your other possessions?

Some of my dog books.

            I try to be organized in everything that I do. My books are arranged by topic: all of the cookbooks are together; the home improvement books are in the same place; the books about animals are divided into dogs, cats and other. I put knick-knacks and other treasures related to the topic with the appropriate books.

Q: Do you use an e-reader (Kindle, iPad, etc.)? Do you read books on your phone?

            I would like to get a NOOK Tablet because, in some instances, it might make it easier to read in bed; there are some books I just can’t hold up because of their size. If I start to doze off, I am afraid a heavy book will fall on me and give me a bruise…or worse!

I am going to be tutoring two young students this fall through the Reading Seed program and think a tablet might prove helpful.

My eyesight isn’t good enough to read e-mail messages on my phone let alone a book!

Q: Have you ever listened to audiobooks? If so, where and when? Do you enjoy reading aloud or being read aloud to?

            I have a fairly long commute to work and usually listen to NPR. Thanks to Lynn, a Habitat colleague, I was introduced to the “Chet and Bernie Mystery Series” by Spencer Quinn. Narrator Jim Frangione is so good that I can’t even imagine reading these stories. I see on the Barnes and Noble website that the fourth book, The Dog Who Knew Too Much, has been released as an audiobook.  I just reserved a copy through the Pima County Public Library website and hope to pick it up from the Wheeler Taft Abbett, Sr. Branch on Monday.

            It is hard for me to read aloud. My voice has a tendency to give out fairly quickly but I like listening to stories. My favorite NPR show is “This American Life” with Ira Glass.

Q: Could you say something about the books you selected for our top ten?

            There were two complete sets of books stored in my room when I was growing up, and I believe both belonged to my mother. The Complete Works of Mark Twain (I have this set) and a many-volumed Juvenile Library published by World Library Guild. Dickens, Twain, Shakespeare, Bronte, Austen were all included along with Habberton.

Habberton?

In the 1870’s, John Habberton wrote Helen’s Babies, which at the time was very popular and considered a classic along with Wind in the Willows and Tom Sawyer. Of all of the books contained in both sets – and I read them all – Helen’s Babies was, and still is, my absolute favorite. I don’t know where the rest of the set is but I have this precious copy.

In addition to Jane Eyre and Helen’s Babies, the rest of my top ten: I Go Pogo by Walt Kelly, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin, In Watermelon Sugar by Richard Brautigan, A Place on Earth by Gwen Frostic, Red Rackham’s Treasure by Herge, The Collected Poems of ee cummings, My Dog Skip by Willie Morris and anything by Laurie Notaro. Wait – can I make it my top 20??

A Night Out

I look forward to Summer Saturday Evenings at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum all year.

The Museum closes at 5:00 PM but during July and August, it stays open until 10:00 PM and takes on a magical – almost forbidden - quality as you walk the grounds at dusk and then in the dark.

Not only do the docents man stations that are different from those you see during the day – you can peer through telescopes, analyze saguaro “stew” under a microscope, look for scorpions with a blacklight, find animals by looking for their eye shine – you also have a chance to see animals moving around that lay low when the sun is up.

I swear I thought the beavers were stuffed until I saw them swimming one evening – who knew they could actually move around?

Over the last few years, Museum staff has been enhancing the evening experience by adding programs based on a theme. June 23 was “Backyard Camping and Summer Reading Night”. I was pretty excited about attending since I knew the Pima County Public Libraries were involved. Philip hurried home from Saguaro National Park so that we could get there just before the activities got started.

Peggy Larson

I knew all about Peggy Larson, museum librarian/archivist, author of several books including Arizona Sonora Desert Museum: A Scrapbook, married to Merv Larson who was an early Museum employee, eventual director and visionary extraordinaire….but had never had the privilege of meeting her until last night. She was scheduled to talk a little about the Museum, then show a video. We made our way to the Warden Oasis Theater, thinking it would be nice to sit inside while it cooled off (the temperature was still 103 degrees when we arrived.)

Peggy calls herself the oldest living employee since her “career” at the Museum started in 1953 when she and Merv moved onto the grounds right after the grand opening. This initial six-month stint has led to a long-term association with the institution. When the staff wanted to put together a video about the Museum’s history in preparation for its 60^th anniversary coming up Labor Day 2012, they turned to Peggy for help. The video we saw last night covers the first 30 years, and she is hard at work completing one that covers the second 30 years.

I enjoyed Peggy’s stories and hope that they are being recorded for posterity, especially the little known facts: the dinners she prepared for Bill Carr every night, the ghostwriting she did as George L. (Leo) Mountain Lion, the thought process behind the creation of the first naturalistic cages and invisifence, and the personalities of the founders and first employees.

Carol, Prancer and a young reader

Philip and I then went to the Baldwin Education Building. Native Seed Search and the Pima County Public Library’s Seed Library both had information tables – we came away with a seed catalog and a seed ball to plant in the yard. A librarian was reading desert stories to a small group of children and adults in one of the classrooms – we joined in singing Itsy Bitsy Spider – before moving on to see “Read to a Dog”.

Carol Madeheim, former Museum employee, had brought her therapy dog, Prancer, to listen while children read aloud. I have to admit I was taken aback at first since I was expecting to see a Golden Retriever or a dog of similar size –not a Chihuahua – but his little face was so expressive that it made me laugh. Such a cutie! There was a line of children waiting their turn and I’m sure Prancer and Carol were busy all night.

REI had a table in the Desert Garden – I still think of it as the Sunset Magazine Demonstration Garden from our very first visit to the Museum 25 years ago – and I picked up their version of the Summer Reading Program passport. Their goal is to get families outside and it features puzzles, games, stickers and places to record your observations.

An added bonus: There is a magnificent exhibit in the Gallery by wildlife artist Tell Hicks and he was there, working on a painting. It’s amazing to see his technique and the detail that goes into each one.

And an extra added bonus: as we were walking toward the entrance, Philip and I saw a sand snake by the Mammoth Exhibit.

The Museum wasn’t as crowded as I have seen it in the past.  There were probably a couple of reasons for that: very little advertising (I didn’t see anything in the paper and the libraries weren’t really pushing it, even though kids with an Adventure Pass coupon could have gotten in for free), the heat (it has been over 100 degrees for more than a week and not been cooling down at night), and the Museum was closed last Saturday unexpectedly due to a lightening strike that took out one of the transformers. When you lose momentum, it sometimes takes a while to get it back.

Next week’s theme: Desert Storms and Music

Book Review: The Small Public Library Survival Guide

My hope is that after I complete my Master’s Degree at the University of Arizona, I will be able to secure a position in a rural public library. I have always been drawn to small towns, which is one of the reasons Philip and I live on the west side of the Tucson Mountains, south of Picture Rocks.

I was planning to take IRLS 566 Small & Rural Library Administration and Practice in the fall but it was cancelled due to funding issues. So, in addition to working one day a week at the Geasa Marana Branch Library this summer as part of my internship (located in Old Marana, which is definitely rural), I decided to read the two textbooks that would have been required as part of the class.

One is called Administration of the Small Public Library by Darlene Weingand; the other is The Small Public Library Survival Guide: Surviving on Less by Herbert Landau. I opted to read the survival guide for several reasons: snappy title, nice cover, fewer pages.

So, based on How to Write a Book Review (in 10 easy steps – see my May 27 post), here goes.

According to the author of The Small Public Library Survival Guide: Thriving on Less, 80% of the libraries in the United States are considered small, serving populations of no more than 25,000. Given tight budgets these days, librarians working in these communities will probably not get the opportunity to attend educational workshops or conferences where they can network with other librarians, see vendors and their products, and listen to speakers on a wide variety of topics.

The American Library Association is well aware of this so offers online courses, eforums, webinars, webcasts, and career development resources, including how-to books on a wide variety of subjects. Published in 2008, The Small Public Library Survival Guide certainly falls into that category.

Whoever encouraged the author, Herbert Landau, to take on this project should be congratulated. He has produced a well-written, thorough, easy-to-use guide that is a perfect balance between the practical and inspirational.

Mr. Landau draws upon his own personal experience, not only as Director of the Milanof-Schock Library in Mount Joy, PA, but his years in technical publishing and the computer industry. He begins each chapter with a brief overview, then proceeds to cover the selected topics succinctly. By using headings and formatting effectively, the reader is able to easily go back and review pertinent information, making it a reference that won’t just sit on the shelf. The appendices and selected bibliography is particularly useful for someone who would like to see specific examples and/or more information on a subject.

Given my years in philanthropy and not-for-profit work, I appreciate the fact that Mr. Landau urges the reader several times throughout the book to check with the library’s attorney or accountant, review the library’s by-laws and related documents, or notify the board before embarking on a new initiative. Besides the fact that no one likes surprises, sometimes a fundraising activity, for example, seems like a great idea but may be inappropriate based on library policy or city/county/state statutes. Too often folks with good intentions get into trouble just because they didn’t check first with other people who should be in the loop.

This book should be required reading for every person assigned to a rural public library, particularly if they do not have a lot of work experience to draw on, especially in the areas of governance, marketing and funding. In my case, I found a lot of the information to be more review than new – which isn’t a bad thing. I got a few ideas that I will be passing on to folks at both the Geasa Marana and Wheeler Taft Abbett, Jr. Branch Libraries before my internship is over, and I can definitely see myself using it as a reference in the future.

Now on to Administration of the Small Public Library.