Support

Spanish speakers are a significant demographic within the Alamo Area Library System.  Although AALS libraries have been offering strong services to Spanish speakers for many years, the following sites may have some new information or perspectives on serving this all-important group.

REFORMA is an affiliate organization of the American Library Association that promotes collections, services and programs to the Spanish-speaking population.   

WebJuncion offers a Spanish Language Outreach Program that provides training, published reports and updates on serving Latino populations.  Currently, WebJunction is offering a research report detailing the results of a six-state telephone survey of over 2,860 adult Latinos about their public library use and perceptions.  Latinos and Public Library Perceptions may be found here.  

The AALS Professional Collection has several titles on services to Hispanic or Latino populations that are available.  Some of our recommended titles are Serving Latino Communities, Library Services to Youth of Hispanic Heritage, Bienvenidos! = Welcome!:  A Handy Resource Guide for Marketing Your Library to Latinos, Library Services to Latinos and Serving Latino Communities:  A How-To-Do-It Manual for Librarians.  If you are interested in borrowing any of these titles, and you are a library staff member within AALS, please call the AALS Office at 210/207-2609 for additional information.

General Articles/Web Sites
Adelante:  Recommendations for Effective Library Service to the Spanish-Speaking 
Guidelines for Library Services to Hispanics (Ohio)
Public Libraries Using Spanish (PLUS) and Spanish in Our Libraries (SOL)
Learning to Use the Internet in Spanish
Federal Citizen Information Center in Spanish
Library Card Application in Spanish

Children
Barahona Center for the Study of Book in Spanish for Children and Adolescents
Digame Un Cuento: Bilingual Library Programs for Children and Families 
El Dia de los Ninos (National Latino Children’s Institute)
El Dia de los Ninos (Texas State Library and Archives Commission)
Library Outreach to Hispanic Children
REFORMA’s Children’s and YA Services
WebJunction’s Children’s and Youth Services

Library Terms and Signage
Bilingual Library Signage (Texas State Library and Archives Commission)
SOL’s Signage
SOL’s About the Language
WebJunction’s Spanish for Library Staff 
REFORMA’s Spanish for Librarians
REFORMA’s Spanish Language Terminology
Spanish for Librarians

Spanish Training Sites for Librarians
 Spanish that Works
Web Spanish Lessons
Free Spanish Tutorials
Spanish Online for Beginners 
Survival Spanish for Library Staff (Infopeople)