Connect, Explore, Grow: Engaging the Latino Community

About the Program

Category: Libraries (Best in Category)

Year: 2018

The Catawba County Library has demonstrated passion, excellence and dedication in support of literacy through a multi-faceted approach to outreach, literacy and engagement focused on serving the needs of the Latino community. The library conducted outreach to identify the specific needs of this population and address those needs through intentional and culturally responsive programming and services. As a result of this program the library has established authentic engagement with the Latino community, created bi-lingual marketing materials and introduced programming including several series of ESL classes, digital literacy classes, book club, and crochet. The library evaluates the success of this project using both qualitative and quantitative measures including library statistics for program attendance and additions to our collection. • Spanish language book club: 10 meetings with 91 in attendance • ESL classes: 3 series of classes; 26 total; 102 students in attendance • Computer Classes: 2 series of classes providing 14 classes; 112 in attendance • Crochet Classes provided weekly 4-6 women • Addition of 1,651 new Spanish language resources; total Spanish collection 2,265 items The library has also observed an overall increase in use of library resources by the Latino population, a qualitative indicator that this program of services has successfully built trust and relationships, breaking down the cultural and language barriers. The average attendance at Spanish language programs varies from 35 to 115 depending on the program. An additional indicator is the number of Latino citizens who are checking out resources including laptops and Wi-Fi hotspots. While not exclusive to the Latino population, a high number of students receiving assistance in the library's Homework Helper program are from Latino families. Our increased engagement and program series dedicated to the needs of our Latino community serves to fulfill the library’s mission to empower lives and build our community by bringing people, information, and ideas together.