El Libro y Su Mundo - Books in Spanish

Loida Garcia-Ceba ask on her new blog how librarians are serving the Latino population. She points out that libraries should continue “trying to figure out how to address topics such as immigration, health and education to mention a few” through their services. This should be done in an inclusive way to “involve publishers, distributors, scholars and professional associations.”

We could not agree more. That is one of the reasons we started this blog, to further this type of conversation. In the last few months we have ask our library friends about what they are doing to attract Spanish-speaking patrons to their libraries and serve them during the holidays.

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Through Library Stuff we learn that the Mollie Dodd Anderson Library in Middletown, PA, is going green. Now that the “box” will be more environmentally friendly, how could the library supervisors ensure that the “content” follows suit?

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There has been much talk about Kindle, Amazon’s new reading device, in the few weeks that it has been available. Most of it has been from a user perspective, centered on its features, readability and how it competes with other devices. Several library blogs have also started conversations to see if this is a device that has a place at our libraries and if the high price tag (high for many library budgets at least) could prevent many libraries from purchasing it.

It seems that the general consensus is that most libraries won’t embrace the Kindle yet. The major issues discussed fall into the following concerns: Read the rest of this entry »

As we are approaching the Christmas holiday season, it is a wonderful time to remind Spanish-speaking patrons of all the services and events their local library offers them. Christmas is a cherished time for most Latinos, full of traditions, memories and social events. It is a time when families get together to share meals, prayers, songs, and love. As many Spanish-speaking families are stretched through different countries, this is not always possible. Furthermore, the traditions that they may have learned through their parents and grandparents are not always present in the communities where they are now. But they can be found at the library.

Libraries have a special role during the holidays in serving their Spanish-speaking patrons. Libraries connect them with their loved ones in far away places and bring them closer to their traditions. We have compiled some of the ways in which libraries are serving these communities which your library could do as well.

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One of the questions we are often asked by our library customers is what can they do to attract more Spanish-speaking patrons and increase their circulation for books in this population. Many libraries have put forth great efforts in developing their Spanish language collection. In many cases, their local community has responded by increasing their visits and circulation for these titles. But unfortunately, that is not always the case. For many reasons, some of the libraries are not attracting their local Spanish-speaking community as much as other population segments. Since many of the members of this community come from countries with different library rules and customs, they may not be aware of the great things that their community library has to offer.

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(Small or Independent bookstores: 10 tips on how to survive against the chains - Part 2)

En nuestro artículo anterior comentábamos como una tienda pequeña o independiente debería prepararse ante la eventualidad de que abrieran una macro-tienda en su cercanía. Esta preparación tendría que empezar mucho antes de que abran la nueva tienda, debe de incluir a los empleados y crear una comunidad de clientes con los que poder comunicarse continuamente. Continuamos con los consejos que han funcionado a muchas tiendas a lo largo de los años:

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This past weekend we had the privilege of attending the second annual Dallas International Book Fair at the Dallas Public Library. Thanks to the efforts of the library’s staff, the sponsors and volunteers who worked restlessly before and during the fair, the city enjoyed a weekend of culture, fun and literature. Of course, this being Texas one of the largest group of people who came to the fair were Latinos and there were plenty of books in Spanish language (and other languages) showcased. The fair is starting the attract the attention from the Dallas community that one would expect during the early years. The Dallas Public Library has sown the seed of international literature for the past two years. Now we all have to water it tenderly in order for it to grow. And grow it will. The hardest part has been done by the library, which is to make real the dream of Dallas as a literary city. For us, it was a great success. Talking with other vendors, librarians, authors, and readers we saw the passion each had for books and what it takes for a fair to be a success. We believe a book fair is successful…

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Los últimos días se ha hablado mucho de Waterstone (una cadena de librerías inglesa) ya que se ha descubierto que cobra a las editoriales por colocar los libros en lugares preferenciales. Muchos de los que están fuera de la industria se han rasgado las vestiduras pensando que la actividad cultural se ha topado de frente con la actividad comercial y que los libros se han vendido como si simplemente fuesen un producto cualquiera. Para bien o para mal, esta práctica, común en muchas otras industrias, está enraizada en el mundo de los libros. Bajo diversos nombres (co-op generalmente en el mundo editorial americano) se viene realizando no solo en las tiendas físicas de libros, sino también en las virtuales. Amazon.com cobra desde el principio de su existencia por diversos tipos de presentaciones que promocionen más el libro.

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¿Quiere poner su propio negocio y ahorrarse los primeros $18,000? Siga leyendo.

Hace unos días la organización Act for Libraries publicó un informe titulado Worth Their Weight (traducido más o menos a “Valen su Peso en Oro”) que trata sobre las valoraciones que diversos estudios dan a las bibliotecas públicas. En estos estudios vemos los beneficios monetarios que tienen las bibliotecas, tanto directos como indirectos. La mayoría están enfocados desde un punto de vista macro-económico y tienen en cuenta principalmente el impacto que los fondos de los impuestos o bonos tienen en la población. Muy interesante y recomendamos su lectura.

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On the 22nd of April we’ll celebrate Earth Day. This is a day in which we should all think about ways we could improve the environmental conditions of our planet and of those communities we live in. While there are many things that we could all do to reduce our pollution, conserve resources, and spread the word, there is one very simple and affordable for everyone that may have as much impact as the best of them: Get a library card.

We have debated before the advantages of using libraries, specially for education. Educating yourself about how your activities make an impact on the planet and how we could be more environmentally friendly would be a great starting point. Your local library, and also your local bookstore, will have rows of shelves dedicated to this with a kind and eager professional staff willing to point you in the right direction. But more importantly, libraries are great stewards of our scarce resources, specially in the book industry. If you consider the total life-cycle of the book, this industry is full of waste at almost every step in the supply chain. However libraries are one of the few entities where the 3 Rs (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle) still hold true.
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