[Baynet] Infopeople's Spanish Language Outreach workshop

[Linda Rodenspiel]

We have scheduled five more sessions of the Spanish Language Outreach workshop.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has funded a national library 
training program in the area of Spanish Language Outreach. The goal of this 
program is to "increase the knowledge and skills of library staff to better 
serve the needs of Spanish speakers in their communities and increase the 
number of Spanish speakers using public access computers."  WebJunction 
developed the curriculum for a one-day Spanish Language Outreach workshop 
and four California trainers attended an institute in Seattle at which they 
were trained in delivery of the curriculum. Twenty of these workshops will 
be delivered throughout the state between March and the end of August 2006. 
The Spanish Language Outreach workshop is free to participants and is open 
to all California public libraries.


Title:  Spanish Language Outreach: Empowering Library Staff to Reach Out to 
Spanish Speakers and Increase Their Access to Technology

Presented by Infopeople  -  on Behalf of WebJunction and the Bill and 
Melinda Gates Foundation

Dates and locations:

Tuesday, July 11, San Bernardino Public Library - Patricia Jimenez
Friday, July 14, Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo - Cindy Mediavilla
Tuesday, August 15, California State Library - Cindy Mediavilla
Monday, August 21, Shasta County Library - Cindy Mediavilla
Monday, August 28, Orange County Dept of Education - Bertha Huertero

To register for this workshop:  Use the online registration form at
http://www.infopeople.org/WS/workshop/Workshop/260

Fee: FREE Infopeople Workshop supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates 
Foundation

Facts:

--According to the 2000 Census, 32.5% of California's population is Hispanic.
--According to estimates from the California Department of Finance, that 
percentage will increase to 38.7% by 2010 and to 43.3% by 2020.
--Since 1990, the Hispanic population has increased in every California county.
--The proportion of Hispanic library users is currently significantly lower 
than the proportion of Hispanics in the California population.

Public libraries in California must be relevant to many ethnic, cultural, 
and language groups, especially to the Spanish-speaking residents who 
constitute a large and growing segment of our population. If you would like 
to learn more about Hispanic culture, about how to develop culturally 
sensitive library services, and about how you can better market the library 
to Spanish speakers, this workshop is for you.

This free workshop is part of a national program developed by WebJunction 
with funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.


Workshop Description: This all-day, interactive workshop will provide you 
with the knowledge and skills you need to improve service to Spanish 
speakers in your community. You will explore cultural issues and their 
implications for your library, examine key ingredients of successful 
library programs for Spanish speakers, discuss how to increase access to 
technology for Spanish speakers, and learn how most effectively to market 
the library to Spanish-speaking users. You will learn how to build strong 
partnerships and collaborate with community groups and their 
representatives, and will have the opportunity to interact with a panel of 
local community leaders. Workshop resources will include resource lists, 
templates, and guides for needs assessment and planning, plus samples of 
Spanish language signage and marketing materials. Workshop exercises will 
culminate with the development of an action plan for your library.

Preliminary Course Outline:

Exploring the Spanish-Speaking Community
--What is diversity? What is culture?
--Cultural programming/cultural differences
--Diversity of the Spanish-speaking customer

Working with the Community
--Identifying community agencies and leaders
--The community leader interview process
--Spanish-speaking community panel presentation

Services for the Spanish-Speaking Community
--Overview of library programs
--Characteristics of successful programs

Getting support: making the case for serving the Spanish-speaking customer
--Selecting outreach activities and developing an action plan

Marketing to the Spanish-speaking community

Resources to help you
--WebJunction

Workshop Instructors: This workshop will be taught by one of the Infopeople 
trainers who were trained at the WebJunction Spanish Language Outreach 
Program Institute in Seattle. They are: Bertha Huertero, Patricia Jimenez, 
Cindy Mediavilla, and Alvaro Sanabria. They will be accompanied by Holly 
Hinman, Infopeople Director. Please see the links to their biographical 
information on our web page http://infopeople.org/WS/workshop/Workshop/260.

Who Should Attend: Anyone from a California public library who is 
interested in learning more about and improving services to the 
Spanish-speaking community.

Prerequisites: None. This course will be taught in English. No knowledge of 
Spanish is required.

Please note: This workshop will be offered in 20 locations throughout 
California between March and September 2006. In order to extend the 
benefits of this workshop, Infopeople will be scheduling related workshops 
as a follow-up for those who want to continue and intensify efforts in this 
area. For your future planning information, those workshops will include:

--Survival Spanish for Library Staff - Level One
--Survival Spanish for Library Staff - Level Two
--Internet Services for the Spanish Speaker
--Developing Spanish and Latino Interest Collections
--Teaching Spanish-Speaking Customers How to Use the Internet
--Introduction to Microsoft Office for Spanish Speakers

Scheduling of these workshops will begin in September 2006.


Other Logistics:

*On-site check-in is from 8:30-9:00 AM;  instruction is from 9:00 AM-4:30 PM.

*Maps, directions, and parking information are available on the Infopeople 
Web site at http://infopeople.org/WS/workshop/Directions.  Infopeople does 
not validate or pay for parking.

To view a complete list of Infopeople workshops and for general information 
about Infopeople training opportunities, go to the main Infopeople 
Workshops page at http://infopeople.org/WS/workshop

If you have questions about registration or scheduling of workshops, please 
contact Linda Rodenspiel, the Infopeople Project Assistant, at 
assist at infopeople.org or by phone at 650-578-9685.