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Selecting Spanish Language Materials In 2004 (?), I was a Spanish Materials selector at Austin Public Library, along with Jennifer Thomas. We got to order Spanish language for all the branches and Central. I would suggest you look at catalogs, Criticas online (definitely buy the recent bestsellers), and Ingram and Baker&Taylor who have good offerings of Spanish language materials. The important thing is to choose the most practical materials you can find - cooking, diet, diseases, self-help, home decorating and repair, appliance repair, car repair, raising children, saving your marriage, drugs and alcoholism, starting your own business, learning English - dictionaries, tape sets, videos, etc. Latinos really prefer books written by Latinos, not books written by Americans translated into Spanish. There are a few exceptions, like South Beach Diet and Harry Potter, but very few. That was my most distressing realization - we had been spending too much of our money on the wrong things. Recent immigrants don't care much about fiction, except Carlos Cuatemoc Sanchez, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and other well-known Latin American authors.Latina authors, writing in or translated into Spanish, circulate, but still not as much as nonfiction. Spanish-speakers like poetry and art by Spanish and Latin American artists and poets. Music and DVD's are another subject, but do buy them! Find a music and/or movie lover in your community (I asked a staff member, Patricia Mendoza, who is bilingual); ask them what Spanish speakers would want to listen to or view! Kids like books on drawing and cartooning, animals, cars, science projects, etc. - just like all kids do. And Spanish-speaking kids aren't so picky about reading only Latin American authors - they acculturate very easily and learn English easily, so American authors are fine with them. They do like picture books and juvenile chapter books by American authors, translated into Spanish. By the time they reach teen status, they usually don't read Spanish anymore. Bilingual books are fabulous, because they help adults and children learn English AND Spanish. "Google" Spanish books" to see what pops up. Go to Guadalajara or Monterrey Book Festival, if you can. (Maybe REFORMA should organize a trip?) I will be participating in a train-the-trainer on "Serving the Spanish-speaking", sponsored by the Gates Foundation in October. In conjunction with that, I'll need to find representatives from the Latino community for 3 panel discussions in central Texas. So if you know of someone in central Texas (maybe in the Austin, Waco, or San Marcos?) who would be interested, please let me know at [EMAIL PROTECTED] or call 512-583-0704 X16. _____ From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Library Sent: Monday, July 16, 2007 9:42 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: RE: Spanish Books Thank You. I would love a copy. I will let you know how everything works out. Kim Adele Kroll Director Lena Armstrong Public Library (254) 933-5832 P.O. Box 120 Belton, Texas 76513 _____ From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of William Abrams Sent: Friday, July 13, 2007 6:02 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: RE: Spanish Books Ms. Kroll-- query the Real County Public Library, Leakey TX, which was a past recipient of Spanish language books purchased as a result of a J. Frank Dobie Grant. But, and a big BUT, prepare yourself for a rightwing assault on your library for being a pawn of the Mexican leftist Government seeking to push its agenda onto young minds in the U.S. and Canada-that Mexico has an historic right to control the minds of Hispanics now living in Norteamerica (!). Cf. http://lonewacko.com/blog/archives/006223.html . I regard that "lonewacko" statement as crazytalk; but, one has to anticipate such wackos responding to your library's reasonable reaching out to bilingual citizens in its community. Sad times, indeed. So, any book published by Fondo de Cultura Economica, http://www.fce.com.mx <http://www.fce.com.mx/> , is first rate. Those imprints are for adults, mainly. But high school students would also respond to the content of FCE books. Obviously, my bias is for non-fiction. Sorry. Best wishes for a non-controversial campaign to bring in bilingual readers, --Bill Abrams, M.S.L.S. (compilador de DirBibMex, Directorio de Bibliotecas Mexicanas-if you want a free copy on CD-ROM, let me know). _____ From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Library Sent: Friday, July 13, 2007 4:54 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Spanish Books I received a Dobie Grant to purchase bilingual and Spanish books and I have no idea what to buy. If anyone could help I would appreciate it. Kim Adele Kroll Director Lena Armstrong Public Library (254) 933-5832 P.O. Box 120 Belton, Texas 76513
