In thinking of how I wanted to structure my independent study this semester, I decided that a hybrid learning blog and Spanish-services lib guide would be the best method for me to reflect on my learning process, and then highlight and organize the best resources I come across in the my studies. We'll see how it all comes together throughout the coming weeks!
Another aspect of the independent study will entail spending some time with René Bue, the bilingual outreach coordinator at the Hedberg Public Library in Janesville, WI. She also serves as the president of the Latino Service Providers Coalition and chairwoman of the Rock County Diversity Action Team. I had attended a presentation she gave for the SLIS Reforma Club last fall, and was very impressed with wealth of experience and insight she provided in terms of Spanish-language services and outreach.
After doing some background research into both print and web resources in the past week, I contacted René about working together this summer. A few days ago we had a chance to chat over the phone about how she could provide some guidance for my independent study, which will include job shadowing in library, attending a programming meeting, possibly joining her for some outreach opportunities, and helping out with a Lucha Libre mask making event for the summer youth program.
Already, she has provided some great insight into the real-world workings of these kind of services. One of the main things we talked about in our first conversation was the extreme importance of building community partnerships. She said most of the services and events she puts on at the library would never get accomplished without those partnerships; the sense of "buy in" outreach work creates for community businesses and organizations inspires them to promote not just the events they are directly involved in, but also future library events. René said she has also highlighted these relationships in grant applications etc., and they have proven doubly useful in that manner. We spoke about two specific examples of community organizations collaborating with the library to provide services:
English Conversation Classes
In the past, René has coordinated with the local Literacy Council to schedule conversational groups facilitated by members of the organization.
English Courses
Currently, there are two levels of 12 week long English courses being offered at the library. These courses came about in a unique way: a group of Mormon missionaries contacted René about reaching out to elderly Latinos in the community who were in need of yard work etc. After making that initial connection, they then offered their services teaching an established ESL curriculum (one that René especially likes since it focuses more on practical vocabulary). She drew up what she calls a "memorandum of understanding" with the group outlining expectations, for example, they specifically agreed that they would keep the instruction separate from their missionary work. The partnership has been very successful, and has even branched out to another group of LDS church members offering genealogy classes at the library.
Another interesting topic we discussed was the sharing of resources among Spanish-language librarians. I mentioned that I had come across the SOL-PLUS website (see the Web Resources tab) in my initial background research. René is a big fan of the website and the fact that it provides a forum for librarians to share translations of common forms etc.; "You should never try to reinvent the wheel when you don't have to!" she said. It's really nice that there's such an ethic of collaboration within the professional community!
Overall, I am really looking forward to working with René and I think it will dovetail nicely with my own independent reading and exploration!
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