Professional Development Committee

Public Libraries and Serving Hispanic Populations in New Jersey

By Neil Grimes
Education & Curriculum Materials Librarian, William Paterson University
Email: grimesn@wpunj.edu

Hispanic, Latino, and Latinx – Identifying Terms

The terms “Hispanic” and “Latino” are pan-ethnic terms meant to describe – and summarize – the population of people living in the U.S. who are from or who trace their origins to a country where the majority of people speak Spanish (Lopez et al., 2021). In practice, the Census Bureau most often uses the term “Hispanic.”

In recent years, “Latinx” has emerged as an alternative to Hispanic and Latino. Some news and entertainment outlets, corporations, local governments, and universities use Latinx as a term inclusive of multiple genders and of the LGBTQ community (Lopez et al., 2021). For the purpose of this article, the term “Hispanic” will be used to describe Spanish-speaking people living in the United States, except where a quoted source uses a different term.

U.S. Demographics

Hispanic people form the fastest-growing ethnic group in America today. According to Flores, Lopez, & Radford (2017), in 2015, 56.5 million Latinos, of whom 37.1 million were U.S.-born, accounted for 17.6% of the total U.S. population, marking a ninefold increase since 1960. Current projections estimate that the growth will continue and that by 2065, there will be 107 million Latinos in the United States, adding up to 24% of the total population (Flores, Lopez, & Radford, 2017). Mexican-Americans form the largest group (63%), with Puerto Ricans (9.5%), Salvadorans (3.8%), and Cubans (3.7%) constituting the next three largest groups (Flores, et al., 2017). 

There are significant linguistic and cultural differences reflected in the dialects of Spanish spoken by Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, and other Hispanic groups. Some Hispanic people speak and read only Spanish, some speak and read only English, some speak both English and Spanish, and others speak and read other languages. Members of these communities are entitled to access diverse library materials and programming.

Demographics in New Jersey

In New Jersey, 20.9% of the current population is Hispanic. The current K-12 public school population consists of 1,370,236 students and is even more diverse. U.S. Census data show that about 54.6% of New Jerseyans were non-Hispanic White in 2021, but White children made up just 45.3% of the public-school population, with Hispanics making up 27.1% of students; African-Americans, 15.5%; and Asians, about 10% (U.S. Census Bureau, 2021; New Jersey Department of Education, 2021; O’Dea, 2018). The data show that there is no longer a single racial or ethnic majority in New Jersey’s schools (O’Dea, 2018).

Table 1: Percentage of New Jersey Residents, K-12 Students, Passaic County, NYC K-12 Students (Hispanic)

In Passaic County, where I live and work, Hispanics make up 55% of the total K-12 population, which is an even higher percentage than that of New York City’s K-12 population (40.8%) (New Jersey Department of Education, 2019; New York City Department of Education, 2021). Public libraries in Passaic County provide programming and resources to meet the needs of their Hispanic populations. A few case studies are shared below.

Guidelines for Library Services to Hispanic People in NJ Communities

Bladek (2019) identifies six key areas for academic libraries to better serve the increasing large numbers of Hispanic students. They are: 

• developing cultural competence
• personalizing services
• teaching information literacy
• removing barriers to library use
• adapting recommendations for practice 

Bladek’s concept of adapting recommendations for practice is a good starting point for New Jersey public libraries. ALA’s Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) has created guidelines to better serve Hispanic populations. These guidelines cover collection development, programs, services, and community relations as well as facilities personnel.

REFORMA: The National Association to Provide Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking, has created a document called The New Spanish for Librarians, which translates words commonly used in libraries, including terms for signage and websites. REFORMA offers many additional resources on its website.

Library Programming and Services: Case Studies

Programming is an effective vehicle to attract and meet the needs of the Hispanic community. This is particularly true for recent immigrants who are unfamiliar with their local library services. Shared or collaborative programming is highly encouraged to better meet the needs of communities within a county or geographic region. The following six case studies show how public libraries can meet the needs of their Hispanic communities through unique programming and services.

Case Study #1: Passaic Public Library – Passaic, New Jersey (2022)

The Passaic Public Library has many in-person and virtual programs to support the city’s large Hispanic population, which includes communities of people of Mexican or Dominican descent, according to Mario Gonzalez, the library’s executive director. He emphasized the importance of hiring bilingual library staff members and having a library board that is supportive of services, programming, and resources for the diverse community that the library serves. Gonzalez also emphasized that 65% of Hispanic households in Passaic do not have internet access in their homes and that they rely on their mobile devices for connectivity. The library purchases many written in Spanish rather than English-Spanish bilingual titles. Gonzalez looks for Spanish titles from Puvill, Lectorum, and Baker and Taylor. He also attends book fairs in Spanish countries such as Argentina, Columbia, and Spain, where he purchases the books directly.

Programs and services offered by the library include:

• Virtual, free English classes during daytime and evening hours.
• Virtual Spanish-language author book talks for patrons of all ages.
• AARP tax assistance in Spanish and English.
• Voter registration drives and civic engagement programs in both Spanish and English.
• Virtual Hispanic music programs for all ages.
• Partnerships with local K-12 schools, including library card signups.
• Virtual college and career programming for Hispanic students and adults, covering the college application and financial aid processes.
• Partnership with the local Boys and Girls Club, which lent laptops to the public during the pandemic.

Gonzalez believes that the services and programming that the Passaic Public Library provides to its community will continue to evolve. He said he hopes that more in-person programming and services will be available later this year. 

Case Study #2: Louis Bay 2nd Library – Hawthorne, New Jersey (2022)

Gina Gerard, Head of Adult Services, and Kathy Mollica, ESL Coordinator, gave some interesting insights into how they personalize ESL instruction and provide Spanish and bilingual resources for members of the Hawthorne community.

The library purchases books in Spanish and bilingual (Spanish-English) books. It also purchases English Language Learner (ELL) novelettes.

Mollica has 28 years of English instruction experience. Here are highlights of her experiences:

• Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, English classes would consist of five to seven students.
• Now, each class has only two or three students.
• Mollica works with the average student for more than two years.
• Beginner and intermediate classes are taught in person.
• Mollica uses photocopies of Side by Side, an ESL workbook, as well as News for You, a newspaper for learners of English.
• She also uses specific English Language Learner novelettes with her students as they become more advanced in their English skills.
• Mollica highlighted the joys of teaching English when she shared the story of teaching one of her former students who was a pharmacist in his former country. He is now working in the healthcare field in New Jersey.

Case Study #3: Clifton Public Library – Clifton, New Jersey (2022)

Gloria Abero, Children’s Department Supervisor at the Clifton Public Library, indicated that her library offers the following to meet the needs of the Hispanic community, which comprises 39% of Clifton’s residents:

• The library recently hired Spanish-speaking staff, which led to an increase in the number of Hispanic patrons using the library.
• The library expanded its collection of Spanish books for children and adults.
• The library holds an annual multicultural celebration during National Hispanic Heritage Month, which has helped community members to feel more confident in visiting the library and asking for information beyond just borrowing books. (National Hispanic Heritage Month is held from September 15 to October 15.)
• A Spanish-language book presentation will take place on June 13. Two local writers will speak on a panel to talk about their just-published books (one fiction, one non-fiction). This event is the start of a Spanish book club for adults.

Case Study #4: Waukegan Public Library – Waukegan, Illinois (2014)

Elizabeth Stearns, a librarian at the Waukegan (Illinois) Public Library, implemented the Promotores model in 2012, which earned her library a National Medal for Museum and Library Service in 2013. 

More than half of Waukegan’s residents are of Hispanic origin (Ruhlmann, 2014). Under the Promotores model, libraries recruit volunteer ambassadors (each known as a promotor or promotora) who is well-connected and trusted in the Latino/Hispanic community and who shows a passion for the services and programs the library wants to promote (Ruhlmann, 2014). 

This program led to an increase in attendance for library programming and overall use of the library as a community space.

Case Study #5: Denver Public Library – Denver, Colorado (2014)

Between 2000 and 2010, more than 80,000 Hispanic immigrants moved to the greater Denver metropolitan area, increasing the area’s foreign-born population by 35%. In response, the Denver Public Library launched Community Learning Plazas (Ruhlmann, 2014).

These Plazas are drop-in programs that provide easy access to immigrant resources and services, in culturally familiar settings. The name “plaza” derives from city plazas in Latin America, which are communal spaces where people of all ages talk and share resources. Unlike traditional American library programs that segment by age (such as teen or adult programs), Plaza programs welcome whole families and encourage multigenerational participation. At the Plazas, libraries offer programs in partnership with family resource centers and small businesses, as well as the Denver Art Museum and other cultural institutions (Ruhlmann, 2014).

Case Study #6: Yakima Valley Libraries – Yakima County, Washington (2022)

Yakima Valley Libraries (YVL) is located in the agricultural Yakima County in south-central Washington state. Yakima County covers 4,296 square miles and is the second-largest county in Washington. Hispanics comprise 50.2% of the county’s 250,000 residents. The Yakima Valley Library District consists of a central library and 16 community libraries in the county.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, YVL implemented the following virtual programming and services to support its Hispanic community members (REFORMA, 2022):

• Virtual Tertulia (Gathering)
• Club Virtual de Lectura en Español
• Phone-a-Story in Spanish (and English) 
• Online Storytime in Spanish
• Installing a new translation plugin on the YVL’s WordPress-based website.
• YVL sent press releases and provided interviews regarding its policies and procedures during COVID-19 to the local Spanish newspaper, El Sol de Yakima, and to a local Spanish-language radio station, Radio KDNA.
• YVL held weekly virtual staff training in Spanish as a Second Language.

Conclusion

A proposed statewide survey conducted by NJLA on how public libraries in New Jersey are serving their Hispanic populations would help librarians to assess and share how they are providing resources, programming, and services to support the cross-generational needs of Hispanic populations. This could encourage more collaborative efforts among New Jersey libraries and help libraries adapt as their communities become more diverse in the years ahead.

References

Bladek, M. (2019). Latino students and the academic library: A primer for action. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 45(1), 50-57. Retrieved May 5, 2022, from https://academicworks.cuny.edu/jj_pubs/254/

Flores, A., López, G., & Radford, J. (2017). 2015, Hispanic population in the United States statistical portrait. Pew Research Center. Retrieved May 5, 2022, from https://www.pewresearch.org/hispanic/2017/09/18/2015-statistical-information-on-hispanics-in-united-states-current-data/ 

Lopez, M. H., Krogstad, J. M., & Passel, J. S. (2021, September 23). Who is Hispanic? Pew Research Center. Retrieved May 5, 2022, from https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/09/23/who-is-hispanic/ 

New Jersey Department of Education. (2019). New Jersey Department of Education. 2017-2018 Enrollment District Reported Data. Retrieved May 5, 2022, from https://www.state.nj.us/education/data/enr/enr19/county2.htm

New Jersey Department of Education. (2021). New Jersey Department of Education. Fall Enrollment Reports. Retrieved May 5, 2022, from https://www.nj.gov/education/doedata/enr/

New York City Department of Education. (2021). DOE data at a glance. New York City Department of Education. Retrieved May 5, 2022, from https://www.schools.nyc.gov/about-us/reports/doe-data-at-a-glance. 

O’Dea, C. (2018, May 4). Interactive map: Diversity remains elusive for NJ schools and districts. NJ Spotlight News. Retrieved from https://www.njspotlight.com/2018/05/18-05-03-school-segregation/

REFORMA. (2022). Yakima Valley Libraries: Serving the Spanish-speaking community during the pandemic. REFORMA. Retrieved May 5, 2022, from https://www.reforma.org/article_content.asp?edition=2§ion=1&article=418

Ruhlmann, E. (2014, May 19). Connecting Latinos with libraries. American Libraries Magazine. Retrieved May 5, 2022, from https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2014/05/19/connecting-latinos-with-libraries/

U.S. Census Bureau. (2021). U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: New Jersey. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 5, 2022, from https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/NJ

Published May 2022. Updated May 13, 2022.