Multnomah Multnomah County LibraryCounty LibraryAn Administrator’s View of An Administrator’s View of
Día de los Niños y Día de los Día de los Niños y Día de los LibrosLibros
ALSC National Institute, 09.15.06, Ellen Fader
Multnomah BackgroundMultnomah Background• 17 MCL locations serve Portland,
Gresham, and rest of county • Separate units dedicated to adult
and youth outreach• 1995 Ellen Fader started as Youth
Services Coordinator • 1997 MCL awarded first of 2 Library
Services and Technology Act grants (LSTA) to start LIBROS
ALSC National Institute, 09.15.06, Ellen Fader
WHY LIBROS?WHY LIBROS?• Latino population in county rapidly
expanding• Cultural and language service barriers • Staff lacked language skills• Library Outreach in Spanish (LIBROS)
addresses issues• Started with one Spanish-speaking Library
Outreach Specialist in January 1998• Marcela Villagran proposed MCL’s first Día
celebration
ALSC National Institute, 09.15.06, Ellen Fader
Planning our First DíaPlanning our First Día• Objective: to celebrate with Spanish-
speaking children and their families the magic of books and stories, and to celebrate their culture and language
• One location -- a diverse, centrally located branch with large and small meeting rooms and enthusiastic staff
ALSC National Institute, 09.15.06, Ellen Fader
First Día HighlightsFirst Día Highlights• 10 a.m. – 3 p.m., Friday April 30, 1999• Target audience of 200: preschoolers and
their families • Invited partners Marcela already served
with bilingual or monolingual outreach visits (Head Start; Migrant Even Start; Housing Authority of Portland sites; child care programs; social service agency programs)
• Advertised through partners’ newsletters; Spanish newspapers/radio; Library flyers and newsletter
ALSC National Institute, 09.15.06, Ellen Fader
• What we promised: Join us for a traditional celebration of childhood and bilingual literacy honoring the power and magic books bring to children.
• Sponsors thanked on program: Oregon Public Broadcasting (giveaway books from OPB’s Ready to Learn initiative), Don Pedro Mexican Food Restaurant (food for volunteers), El Hispanic News (ads), Safeway (refreshments for families), and Pat Mora (inspiration).
ALSC National Institute, 09.15.06, Ellen Fader
First Día ProgramFirst Día Program• Donated apples, cookies and juice• Library info table (library card
applications and general Library info brochure in Spanish; takeaway bookmarks, stickers and paper book bags to color
• Local clinics did child health screenings
• 4 storytimes with easy crafts
ALSC National Institute, 09.15.06, Ellen Fader
1999 Activities1999 Activities• Puppet Shows• Music• Dancers• Children’s Museum
hands-on activity• Tables with crafts• Storytelling
• Picnic at the Library: tablecloths on meeting room floor for groups to eat the lunches they brought
• Community Fair (WIC, Oregon Public Broadcasting, Head Start & social service agencies)
• Library Tours
ALSC National Institute, 09.15.06, Ellen Fader
1999 Workers1999 Workers• LIBROS Advisory Committee (Library staff
& community members who advised on LSTA grant)
• Staff from Oregon Council for Hispanic Advancement (OCHA)
• Hispanic clubs from local high schools• Volunteers recruited by Volunteer Services
or by Marcela for LIBROS• Bilingual staff (paid)
ALSC National Institute, 09.15.06, Ellen Fader
Wow! Wow! • Nearly 1,000 people attended the
1999 celebration• Multnomah County Library was the
first agency in the Northwest to observe Día de los Niños y Día de los Libros.
• Having a Latina county commissioner involved brought great publicity
ALSC National Institute, 09.15.06, Ellen Fader
What we changed for What we changed for Día 2000Día 2000
• Needed to print program in Spanish and English
• Needed and got more media sponsors: El Hispanic News returned; we added The Oregonian and KBOO
• Many more wanted to participate; all thanked on program (Spanish classes; restaurants; science museum; zoo; Police Activities League)
ALSC National Institute, 09.15.06, Ellen Fader
More 2000 changesMore 2000 changes• Moved to a branch library where
more migrant families lived• Branch had 1 large and 2 small
meeting rooms• Changed to a Thursday (Head Start
doesn’t meet on Fridays)• Longer program: 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.• Community Fair and Art Workshop
went all day
ALSC National Institute, 09.15.06, Ellen Fader
2000 Highlights2000 Highlights• High school students trained to do Library
tours (every ½ hour)• Community volunteers trained to read
stories (noon, and every ½ hour from 4 p.m.)
• Many students performed/presented: storytelling; dance; puppet shows
• Professionals: clown (bilingual!); music; dance; storytelling (Carmen Bernier-Grand)
• Over 4,000 attended
ALSC National Institute, 09.15.06, Ellen Fader
What happened in 2001What happened in 2001• Still coordinated centrally by Spanish
Outreach Specialist• Expanded to 6 libraries• Involved many more staff and
community resources• Reached over 6,300 participants• Offered 29 cultural programs • Lasts for month of April
ALSC National Institute, 09.15.06, Ellen Fader
New in 2001New in 2001• Paper flower and piñata making• Photography workshop• Bilingual play• School choir• Arts & Crafts Show• College dancers
ALSC National Institute, 09.15.06, Ellen Fader
Hooray!!Hooray!!• Multnomah County Library wins the
2002 Estela and Raul Mora Award!• Marcela Villagran is on FMLA with
first child!• At REFORMA Board meeting in ALA
Midwinter/Philadelphia in January 2003, Ellen Fader accepts plaque and stipend!
ALSC National Institute, 09.15.06, Ellen Fader
Día 2002Día 2002• Ellen Fader (happily) no longer responsible
for LIBROS. • 6 branches now have dedicated bilingual
LIBROS paraprofessional staff who provide programming, reference and outreach services.
• That leads to the biggest change: Each branch plans own Día – only professional programming and supply ordering are centrally coordinated.
ALSC National Institute, 09.15.06, Ellen Fader
Local planningLocal planning• More responsive to neighborhoods• Increased staff development opportunity • Increased local ownership – staff, schools,
and businesses• Work for Spanish Outreach Specialist shifts
to coordinating supplies, and liaison with Public Relations, which books professional programmers, designs local flyers, and promotes month-long event
ALSC National Institute, 09.15.06, Ellen Fader
Local planningLocal planning• Need to have role clarity and decision-
making authority clearly delegated– Color of logo and paper – Systemwide Web site and flyers? Local flyers?
Templates? Design?– Style guides?– Translation– Promotion – local or systemwide?– Who is main contact for questions & media
appearances?
ALSC National Institute, 09.15.06, Ellen Fader
More hard decisionsMore hard decisions
• Who…– documents (photos, videos) each event?– previews & selects professional and
local talent?– solicits community groups’
participation?• Varied project management,
budgeting and evaluation skills
ALSC National Institute, 09.15.06, Ellen Fader
FeedbackFeedback• ESL WIC clients confused about one
branches’ Spanish/English flyer promoting Día for all bilingual children
• Bilingual staff confused: who is really in charge at branches?
ALSC National Institute, 09.15.06, Ellen Fader
Now it is 2006Now it is 2006• LIBROS has expanded to 8 branches• LIBROS has new manager • Stated mission: “…an event directed
toward the Latino commuity of Multnomah County. It is intended to celebrate children and their culture and language, bilingual literacy and the magic of books.”
ALSC National Institute, 09.15.06, Ellen Fader
Future literacy focusFuture literacy focus• How can we make the event more literacy-
based and make it reflect the theme “children and bilingual literacy?”
• Defined “literacy-related activity:” One wherein language, words, stories, or letters are primary elements
• Analyzed all 2006 activities & giveaways for literacy focus
ALSC National Institute, 09.15.06, Ellen Fader
Examples literacy-relatedExamples literacy-relatedactivitiesactivities
• Storytelling• Book-making• Writing• Reading aloud
Singing songs• Cutting out letters• Using letter stamps
• Activities emphasizing dialogue
• May focus on textual elements– Shapes– Colors – Numbers
ALSC National Institute, 09.15.06, Ellen Fader
Not literacy-related, but still Not literacy-related, but still valuablevaluable
• These strengthen community and family ties, are fun, enhance cultural literacy, stimulate discussion– Making crafts, such as paper flowers– Face painting– Instrumental music
ALSC National Institute, 09.15.06, Ellen Fader
FYI: 2006 BudgetFYI: 2006 Budget• Programming $6,159• Rentals $1,976• Printing (partial) $1,302• Other $1,350
– Llama– Artist for craft program– Performers in schools
• Total budget (partial) $10,787
ALSC National Institute, 09.15.06, Ellen Fader
Multnomah County LibraryDia de los Ninos y Dia de los Libros
903
4,054
6,315
8,1979,034
18,977
11,895
6,221
11
2029
75
129
42
6469
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
14000
16000
18000
20000
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
Attendance
# of events
ALSC National Institute, 09.15.06, Ellen Fader
2007?2007?• Directed toward Spanish-speaking
community• Provides a majority of programming,
crafts, events, and activities that are designed to promote bilingual literacy
• Adheres to a single system-wide marketing presentation of the celebration as guided by Public Relations with input from LIBROS work group
ALSC National Institute, 09.15.06, Ellen Fader
2007 specifics2007 specifics• Continue to implement new meeting
room guidelines• Three-hour limit of celebrations
(started in 2005)• $15,000 programming, print &
supply budget for 8 locations• Roles & responsibilities clarified with
PR & LIBROS
ALSC National Institute, 09.15.06, Ellen Fader
Why is Día so important?Why is Día so important?• Community focus• Volunteer involvement• Public (parents, educators, agencies) loves
it• Brings people together• Staff learns new skills• Gets media attention• Donors• LITERACY!