For the past few years, I have been invited to participate in a local museum's family day that marks the celebration of el Dia de los Muertos. Celebrated on November 1st and 2nd of each year, Dia de los Muertos is a time to celebrate and honor deceased relatives and family friends and a way to pay tribute and commemorate the lives of those that have passed on.
I share this with you since that weekend is fast approaching and I am personally getting materials ready for the event. Participating in community events such like this can allow library staff to partner with other local organizations to promote literacy and library resources as well as to reach out to people that may not be aware of all that their local public library has to offer.
Usually I will set up a book display featuring our diverse collection of bilingual and Spanish language materials (Books and instructional materials for all ages, Videos and DVDs, Music CDs, and Magazines) in order to demonstrate and highlight the types of items available at the local library. I create festive and colorful banners and signs to draw attention to my exhibition table and have plenty of applications, brochures, bookmarks, and calendars readily available to handout to the public. And yes, my handouts are in Spanish.
What is great about going out into the field is being able to bring library resources to others. Being involved in the Day of the Dead event affords me the opportunity to meet new people in our local community, establish more great connections with other social and civic organizations that are participating in the day's events, as well as having the chance to speak with people one-on-one about our library services, programs, and resources for the entire family.
For the first year that I participated in the museum event I created an altar ("ofrenda") to honor Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz. In my library, a colleague and I also created an altar in order to pay tribute to this Mexican tradition. The altar generated much interest and we were able to cross promote programs and library materials.
Why not have someone present a talk about Dia de los Muertos at your library or host a bilingual story time program featuring children's books about Day of the Dead? Several wonderfully written juvenile books are available that highlight the Day of the Dead celebration.
References
Amado, E., & Hairs, J. (1999). Barrilete: A Kite for the Day of the Dead. Berkeley, CA: Publishers Group West.
Ancona, G. (1993). Pablo Remembers: The Fiesta of the Day of the Dead. New York, NY: Lothrop, Lee, and Shephard Books.
Goldsmith, D.H. (1995). Day of the Dead: A Mexican American Celebration. New York, NY: Holiday House Publishers.
Goldsmith, D.H. (1995). Day of the Dead: A Mexican American Celebration. New York, NY: Holiday House Publishers.
Johnston, T. (1997). Day of the Dead. San Diego, CA: Harcourt Brace.
Lasky, K. (1994). Days of the Dead. New York, NY: Hyperion Books for Children.
Lasky, K. (1994). Days of the Dead. New York, NY: Hyperion Books for Children.
Luenn, N. (1998). A Gift for Abuelita: Celebrating the Day of the Dead. Flagstaff, AZ: Rising Moon.
For young adults why not try a craft workshop featuring ideas found in Andrea Zocchi's Day of the Dead Crafts: More than 24 Projects that Celebrate Dia de los Muertos.
Online Resources
I had no idea there were so many resources on the Day of the Dead. In our area we have a small Vietnamese influence because of one family that brought many relatives here. It is nice to know there are resources.
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking a look at the post! Fortunately, there are many educational books about the Day of the Dead tradition written for children in both English and Spanish. Truly great tools for all those interested in learning more about this tradition.
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