Calendar of Events

Listed below are a few Latino holidays and a list of programming ideas that may be tied in to the festivities:

January 6
El Dia de los Tres Reyes/Three Kings Day, Epiphany
-Showcase books that discuss religious holidays around the world.
-Create a  display featuring books about Hispanic and Latin cultures.
-Sample traditional foods.

April 30
El Dia de los Ninos/El Dia de Los Libros
Children's Day/Book Day
-Host a bilingual story time.
-Have a craft activity.
-Utilize songs and fingerplays as part of the multicultural story time.
-Plan and implement games and storytelling involving local Latino families.

May 5
Cinco de Mayo
-Display books about Mexico and famous Mexican artists and historical figures.
-Feature Latino dancers.

September 15 - October 15
Hispanic Heritage Month
-Create a  display featuring biographies of famous Latinos, Latin American travel books and history books.
-Hold a foreign film festival throughout the month.
-Host a multicultural food night showcasing foods from different regions of Latin America.

November 1-3
El Dia de los Muertos/Day of the Dead
-Create an altar honoring a famous deceased Latino artist.
-Have different community organizations create their own altars and showcase in the library (as space allows).
-Host a scavenger hunt.
-Host a food tasting of traditional Mexican food.

References:
Menard, V. (2000). The Latino holiday book: from cinco de Mayo to dia de los muertos-the celebrations and traditions of Hispanic-Americans. Emeryville, CA: Publishers Group West.



Online:

Florida Department of Education, http://www.fldoe.org/JustForTeachers/hhmholidays.asp.

Remember to promote activities for the entire family!

Introduction

Welcome! Bienvenido!

Thank you for joining me on this interesting and exciting journey through the world of blogging.

I hope to create a spot where people can read, post, and share ideas about services to Spanish speakers in rural public libraries. My intention is to create a welcoming spot where we can share discourse about types of programs, services, and resources that can be offered to our Spanish speaking patrons.

While most of my experiences are culled from working in a "suburban" library branch that serves a local community of about 14,000 or so, I look forward to learning more from others. Perhaps programs carried out in larger urban libraries can be tailored to a rural library service model? What are many of our rural public libraries doing to reach out to and embrace all of the citizens?