Offbeat Library Holidays

By Melissa Perkins, MLIS, M.Ed.

Halloween ghouls, harvest cornucopias, jolly St. Nicks, shining Menorahs, and pumpkins galore! Yes, it’s that time again. The holiday season is beginning, and libraries are leading the charge in planning and hosting festive celebrations. Walk into any library at the beginning of fall, and you’ll be greeted with holiday décor and at least five invitations to events ranging from toddler tomfoolery to mature mischief-making.

As the year wanes, the traditional holidays are in full force and dominate library event calendars. But what can be done once the holiday “high-season” has evaporated and people start looking toward spring? Once the last Valentine has been given and shamrock has been wished upon, what holiday celebrations can a library use to promote literacy and to advertise its helpful programs? Are we doomed to wait until the Fourth of July before another gala event can be offered to the public? No, not at all, there are many ideas and activities that libraries can draw upon to promote community interaction and visitation throughout the year.

These events are about more than just giving patrons a good time; they function as library calling cards. Throwing open the doors of the library to the neighborhood for some social engagement can go a long way towards motivating people to visit, use, and benefit from the library on a regular basis.

Following are just a few library holiday celebration ideas that have been implemented by libraries across the country:

March: Instead of resorting to the ubiquitous “Spring has sprung” motif, libraries could celebrate Dr. Seuss Day on March 2 by throwing a Whoville costume party live webcast with read-alongs of Dr. Seuss books. Use social media to not only promote the event, but also invite people to participate live online.

April: While we’re examining springtime celebrations, let us not forget National Library Week in April. Try hosting an “April is for Authors” event and ask notable authors (representing juvenile, young adult, and adult literature) present to meet and greet the guests (community members). This event could last for several days, giving people multiple opportunities to enjoy the festivities and check out books, while taking selfies with their favorite authors.

May: Want to put Comic-Con to shame? Celebrate Star Wars Day on May 4. “May the Fourth be with you!” Yes, I know that reaches into the realm of geekdom, but there are multitudes of wannabe Jedi Knights who would love an opportunity to “Jedi mind-trick” a librarian or two.

June: The long, hot days of June can grow rather monotonous. But don’t despair. Alleviate boredom with a little ingenuity and an open mind. Host a lasagna, pizza, and ice cream social while celebrating Garfield the Cat Day on June 19. With food, books, and fun, you can’t go wrong with these summertime activities. Also, if your library actively promotes multiculturalism, perhaps you could host an event that is both literary and cultural. One such event is the Eid al-Fitr (the end of Ramadan) celebration. Incorporate the breaking of the Ramadan fast with the awesome story collection “One Thousand and One Nights” (commonly known as the “Arabian Nights”). The story of Aladdin could be used as a focal point, and the celebration could be called “Night of Wishes Fulfilled.” This event could include storytelling, gifts of books, food, and games. In 2019, Ramadan starts in May and ends on June 4. Incidentally, Ramadan is based on the lunar calendar and moves around on the solar (Gregorian) calendar by approximately 11 days each year.

July: Okay, I know what you’re thinking. The month of July is covered by the Fourth of July, right? No, not really. The Fourth is at the beginning of the month. It’s summertime, so we’ve got loads of time on our hands! We need another reason to celebrate at the library, so let’s celebrate Harry Potter Day on July 31, when “the boy who lived” was born (not coincidentally, the fictional Harry shares a birthday with author J.K. Rowling). Such Hogwarty magical fun could be planned for this special event!

August: Book Lovers Day falls on August 9. Why not promote the love of the written word by hosting a “Bookworm Day” party? Have guests submit lovers’ notes (written on paper bookworms) addressed to their favorite book and/or author, and enter them into a prize drawing for the most creative note. In addition to offering delicious snacks and icy bookworm pudding pops, set up a display of new blockbuster novels. Ask newly-published novelists to perform book readings, engage in discussions, and sign any books they have to offer.

September: September is typically the month that people use to prepare for the “high holiday” seasonal festivities. Unfortunately, as a month of celebration, it’s a bit neglected. However, there is a September literary holiday which could be useful. It’s called “Baggins Day.” It occurs on the 22^nd and acknowledges the birthdays of Frodo and Bilbo Baggins, of Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy fame. This event is perfect for hobbit lovers. It consists of great Shire entertainment, such as music, (maybe even fireworks), food (including two bagged breakfasts), and plenty of frolicking under the “party tree.”

October: As we draw closer to Halloween, we can indulge in one last literary celebration before officially entering into the “high holiday” season: Mad Hatter Day, which dawns on October 6. This celebration was created in honor of the famously comical character from the classic title “The Adventures of Alice in Wonderland.” It is celebrated on the 6^th because the price tag located on the Hatter’s hat clearly reads “10/6” (ten shillings and six pence). With this holiday, librarians and staff members can be as crazy as March Hares, creating the silliest literary fun imaginable. Personally, I would suggest that hats be involved.

We’ve come to the conclusion of our year’s worth of enjoyment and camaraderie. If your library celebrates some unique holidays, please share them in the comments section. New ideas are always appreciated!

Melissa

Melissa has worked in an assortment of academic, corporate, and public libraries. One of her major passions is sharing the magical world of stories, information, and ideas with the masses. Click here for more.

Spanish-Language Collection Development: What to Keep in Mind When Selecting

By Jessica L. Blaker, Spanish Services, Collection Development & Acquisitions

The demand for Spanish materials in public libraries has increased dramatically over the past few years, and librarians have accepted the challenge to find the right titles for their library’s demographic.

Often, libraries do not have in-house staff with enough experience or language skills to make the best decisions. When you don’t speak the language and reviews are nonexistent, how do you know what to buy? Simply filling your shelves with Spanish language titles does not guarantee success, and it doesn’t mean your materials will appeal to patrons or circulate.

Know Your Patron Base

One of the keys to selecting Spanish materials for your library is knowing your population’s country of origin. The Spanish dialect in which a book is written can have a big impact on how readable or useful it will be in your community. For instance, the Spanish spoken in Spain is much different than the Spanish spoken in Latin America. A picture book or board book that contains words and expressions colloquial to Spain, for example, may look odd to Mexican readers, and therefore be less appealing.

While it is important to be mindful of regionalism, it’s a mistake to take this too far and totally exclude authors and publishers from Spain (assuming your patrons hail from countries other than Spain). Doing so could cause you to miss out on a big chunk of what’s out there.

Thinking that Mexicans or Salvadorans would not want to read materials from Spanish authors is akin to me saying that, because I am an American, I won’t ready Harry Potter, since the author of that series is from the UK. Spanish authors such as Carlos Ruiz Zafon, who enjoys universal readership, could get lost in the shuffle. That would shortchange your community.

Brodart’s Spanish materials experts vet as many titles as possible — particularly children’s titles — reviewing them for dialect and quality. We also note author country of origin on adult titles to aid in selection. These are the factors that will be important to your Spanish-speaking patrons.

English Language Titles in Spanish

Many Spanish translations of popular English language titles are published in Spain. For example, “Miedo: Trump en La Casa Blanca (Fear: Trump in the White House),” by Bob Woodward, is being released in December by Roca Editorial. This is likely to be one of the biggest books of the year. But a library that excludes publishers from Spain would never see that title in its library collection. Other examples of popular and must-have titles coming out of Spain include “El cuento de criada (The Handmaid’s Tale)” by Margaret Atwood and “La forma del agua (The Shape of Water)” by Guillermo del Toro.

Appropriateness for American Libraries

We Americans tend to be more prudish than much of the rest of the world when it comes to sex and nudity. An example of this is a book from Spanish Publishers called “El pañal de Bumba.” This is a board book about a little boy who has lost his diaper. Right or wrong, the illustrations in this book, while perfectly acceptable in Europe, would be challenged in the US. The title does not meet American standards for board books, due to depictions of nudity (albeit childish nudity).

In this case, it would be understandable to exclude the title due to the illustrations. This is why book-in-hand reviews are imperative.

Here’s another point you may not have considered: juvenile titles from Spain are often printed in cursive font. This may not sound like a big deal, but many schools across the US are no longer teaching children cursive. Conversely, cursive writing (la caligrafia) is still widely taught in Central and South America. Thus, while a book’s subject matter may be deemed appropriate for American children, and while Spanish-speaking children who have learned to read in another country might have no trouble with it, it would be unintelligible to English-speaking American children learning Spanish. Titles printed in cursive are not of interest to many public libraries.

What Is Popular among Spanish Speakers?

Like their English-speaking counterparts, Hispanic patrons read a balanced mix of both fiction and nonfiction.

In nonfiction, the most popular Dewey categories are the 100s, 200s, 300s, and 600s. The general trend in Hispanic nonfiction is toward self-improvement books. Leylha Ahuile, writing in Publishers Weekly, points out that there is a high demand for self-improvement literature in the Spanish-­language book market in the US, including books on “finance, health, marriage, parenting, acquiring or improving skills, entrepreneurship, leadership, and spirituality.” The same holds true for English speakers: these topics are universal and tend to be among the most in-demand and highest-circulating items in libraries today.

Graphic Novels

Most Spanish-language graphic novels tend to come from Mexico and Spain. Spanish Publishers have recently picked up the wildly popular “Lumberjanes (Lenadoras)” in Spanish for the YA market. Interestingly enough, there are a number of current widely popular graphic novels that poke fun at the US President and our current state of affairs. These titles are mostly from Mexico.

Háblanos! (Talk to Us!)

Overcoming language barriers and reaching underserved populations is one of the most rewarding experiences for librarians. We would love to hear your stories and welcome your questions and concerns about Spanish-language collection development. Leave a comment to share!

For further reading:

Library Journal’s Collection Development feature on Selecting Spanish

RUSA’s Guidelines for Library Services to Spanish-Speaking Library Users

Jessica

Jessica Blaker has been a Spanish cataloger and a customer account manager at Brodart. She came back to Spanish as a collection development paraprofessional, which she loves due to the variety and the opportunity to work with customers. Click here for more.