HOLA Workshop for Service to Spanish patrons.

1. Goals for serving our Spanish Speaking Community:

Signage in Spanish.Cinco De Mayo- Connect and become a part of the planning process.Collect more materials and find a better spot for them in the library.Get a Spanish speaking community member as a board member.Do more PR in basic Bilingual flyers, ads, etc. and where to put them.Do more programing for Spanish speakers to help them assimilate. The library can help teach the English language and other life skills that will help them succeed in this country, city, town, etc.Use Wally Rendon to do a Financial Literacy program for Spanish Speakers.Become involved in the Hispanic business council, cultural councils, etc. go to their meetings.

2. Items from the workshop for staff use that will help:
CD Survival Spanish for Library Staff. We can all benefit from hearing and repeating what is on this CD.

3. Actions we can take to make it easier on us and Spanish speaking patrons:
We need to keep a visual Dictionary at the desk, as well as a Spanish dictionary at the desk.
Use Web Junction Spanish Language Outreach Programs. Don't reinvent the wheel.
4. Why we serve Spanish speaking patrons:
By providing a welcoming atmosphere (Spanish signs, Spanish staff, etc.) they will be more likely to pick up the things that help them learn English, or sign up for ESL classes through the Walworth. Co. Literacy Council, or being informed about other life skills.

5. Concepts to understand about the Hispanic culture:
Very Paternalistic. Potentially sexist for American Standards, but don't assume so. Machismo means a sense of extreme responsibility in Mexico, but in America it has changed to a more negative connotation that conveys a womanizer or misogynist. In America, Hispanic women are awakened many times and empowered because they have more rights, responsibilities, and many of them take to it.
In Hispanic culture, if you are in a meeting or visiting a home, you will likely be offered something right away (coffee, food, etc.). It's a bridge they extend to build trust. If it's turned down you are sending a message of rejection. By nature, the people do not trust the government because of where they are coming from. Libraries are government, so we need to keep that in mind. We need to defuse that element of distrust. It's huge because the fear that must exist about someone knowing what you are reading, viewing, using the Internet for, etc. We need to build the trust to let them know that we do not keep records of what they check out, we keep their info completely private, we do not check for legal residency, etc. Hispanics shy away from shame, so if they are late with a book there is so much shame they may not come back. Also, back to the distrust, families will not go to parent teacher conferences because of fear and distrust, not language barriers always. They will send an older sibling, a cousin, etc. to build distance from the institution.
Many times Mom as the power, but Dad has the authority to carry it out. Mom may make the decision, but it will not be carried out until the father does so or approves it.
The oldest son, typically becomes the patriarch of the family when the father dies. However, that is changing to some degree in America. Family decisions after the father dies, become family decisions where all the kids collectively decide.
In Walworth Co. the people are from the rural areas of their country rather than the cities. They are more timid but willing to work with you once trust is built. Much more discussion and trust needs to take place between city officials and the Hispanic community. Most families are in or below the poverty level.

Systems people live in: Nurturing system is where you learn things of your culture. Your music, food, language, etc. from home. The Sustaining system which is the USA, the system you live in. In the US this is run by rich white men and women. Of all congress persons only Russ Feingold is not a millionaire. Their values clash with the values of Hispanics or other citizens for that matter. Gangs fit in the middle, between these two systems for the kids growing up in America. They don't feel comfortable at home or within the sustaining system, so gangs take up that slack, for better or worse. Religion is also an institution that can bridge that gap to make people more comfortable.

In Walworth Co. the hispanic population comes from more rural areas of their home countries. They are more timid as people, but less jaded so once trust is built they can and will participate.

We should not assume Latinos need help. They may be doing fine. The idea of what can we do to help Hispanics can be very ethnocentric of us and we should be aware of our own prejudices. Look into yourself and look at what you as a white person or as a white culture that we do that could be seen as weird or odd by non-white people. We are all culturally biased. No one has the same cultural program. We have to be aware of our own biases and be willing to recognize them and deal with them.

All relationships are built on Trust, Respect, and Dignity. We should treat all patrons, but especially Hispanics or others not from our culture in this way.

Programming and getting men there can be done by hooking them in by convincing them that we need their wisdom.

Regular programming is key. Once every 3 months will not work for reaching the Hispanic community. Which means we should do regular Spanish story hours or other regular Spanish programming. For any program we have for Hispanics, we should make up certificates of achievement to be passed out at the end. These are very meaningful and shows accomplishment.

All info provided by Ben Ortega who runs the Spanish Center and he has informed me that they are looking to open a branch in Delavan. Until then we can contact or give Spanish patrons their contact info. We can reach the Spanish Center at 262-657-2160. or at spanishcenter@wi.rr.com . Refer people for social services including but not limited to Gang Prevention, parenting, senior citizens, medical. The only thing they don't do is immigration at this time.

We need to build that trust with our patrons by asking them what they want and need and by getting involved in their activities. Don't wait for them, they won't come, we have to make the first step.

Time is more loose in Hispanic cultures. 7:00 means around 7:00 not right at 7:00.

Not looking elders or those of authority in the eye is an act of respect. It's opposite of what we've been taught as Americans.

AND now everyone at the workshop sung happy birthday to me, as Rhonda and Bernie brought me a birthday cake :) It was too cute.

6. Misconceptions about the Library to overcome:
Biblioteca = Library
Libreria= Bookstore
Library materials are for sale.
Public Libraries are only for the educated or for those attending school.
In other countries libraries exist, but you become a paying member as a subscription cost, and THEN things are free to loan out after the subscription is purchased. We need to make it clear that Free really means FREE. Because they could think we're just trying to sell them something they can't afford.
Libraries only provide English materials.
Libraries will divulge personal information to government agencies.

7. Realities Change:
Immigration today is infinitely more difficult to accomplish than before World War II. You had to live in the US for one year and have an American testify you would make a good American. You did not need to take a test, or have papers, or anything like today. It's good perspective to realize what our Spanish patrons might want have to deal with. Not all of them want or need citizenship and this may be a part of it, is that it's too much effort for what it's worth, but for those that do want it, realize it's very difficult and many hoops to jump through.

8. PR possibilities:
Church bulletins.
Word of mouth*
Schools.
Getting involved in the Hispanic organizations.

Reference Services, Chapter 2

Chapter 2 - Approachability

We found out in Chapter 1 that a patron's interaction with the librarian is the most important part of any transaction. Patrons have a much stronger memory of the person who served them than of the purpose of their library visit. Just as our opinions of staff influence our choice of stores, restaurants and other businesses, library patrons judge our quality of service by whether or not the librarian was friendly, interested, and willing to help.

Before any interaction between library staff and patron can occur, a library visitor must be able to find a librarian and be willing to ask that person for help. "Approachability" means whether or not the patron feels comfortable asking you for help.

During this portion of the class, we were shown pictures of male and female librarians of all ages and ethnic backgrounds performing various activities, wearing different types of clothing, and with different facial expressions. We were asked to choose between pairs of photos, and select the librarian we would feel most comfortable approaching with a question. A similar survey has been given to hundreds of library users. The results showed a slight difference between old/young, male/female, and various ethnic groups depending upon the user population demographics (which may mean a Hispanic or Spanish-speaking librarian would be more approachable to some users of our library). How the librarian was dressed also influenced whether or not a patron would approach, which led to a discussion of uniforms, name tags and dress codes. Most patrons chose a librarian who was neat and dressed slightly more formally than the patron. The instructor's advice: Dress like you are part of the community, but at a level the community respects.

Here's what we ALL can do to be more approachable:

1. Be visible to the patron (not hidden behind piles of books or a computer screen).
   
2. Make eye contact.
3. Smile.
4. Greet the patron

In addition, some activities we do at the service desk make us seem more approachable than others (in order from most approachable to least):

1. Standing, making eye contact, smiling.
2. Standing, making eye contact.
3. Helping another patron.
4. Standing, writing.
5. Sitting, making eye contact.
6. Using the computer.
7. Reading.
8. Talking on the phone.

This study shows that a librarian standing is selected more often than one who is sitting. When you are standing, you are at the patron's eye level. You are more easily seen, and making eye contact is more natural. It also holds true, then, that children will most often ask for help from someone sitting (at their eye level).

Notice that patrons would rather wait for a librarian who is helping another patron than approach one who is doing other things. We learned that the patron is almost always drawn to a librarian doing something active. A librarian helping someone in the stacks or shelving books will be more approachable than one just walking around (who may not be recognized as library staff, or may be perceived as the "library police" -- someone to be avoided.)

The issue of roaming (going into the stacks to help patrons) raised an obvious question. When you leave the desk to help someone, then others see no one at the desk. We were told that as long as the librarian remains visible, patrons at the desk will wait. If you go where you are not seen (like in the stacks or around the corner), people waiting will give up after a few seconds. So it's important to let people know you will be right back, or get someone else to help them if you will be out of sight.

My thoughts on this chapter: Like the majority of my classmates, I was very surprised to find that patrons would rather wait for a librarian to finish helping someone else rather than interrupt someone doing another activity. This caused me to rethink which activities are appropriate for the service desk, eliminate those that take my attention away from the public, and think about how I look to library users. One time, frowning over a computer problem in the children's room, I overheard a conversation between mother and 4-year old daughter. Mother: "Ask the librarian where they have those books." Child: "I don't want to . . . she's a scary grandma." I've never thought of myself as a scary grandma, but it made me smile, at which point I became unscary and the little girl found her courage (and her books). Maybe I should have a smiley face tattooed on my hand to remind me.

The whole subject of approachability made me think about shopping. How do you decide which clerk to ask when you need help? How do you feel about having a salesperson approach you and offer to help? Have you ever had an experience where you can't find anyone to help you? I have a friend who seldom comes to the library any more because of some negative interactions she had with a single employee. Even though there are many of us to choose from, she won't take a chance on being served by the person who made her feel her needs were unreasonable.

Enough philosophizing for today. I'd like to hear your comments on this information. I think the more we talk about it, the better we'll all understand what we have to do to make our customers happy and our library awesome.

Reference Services, Chapter 1

I’ve been thinking for a while how to pass on the information from this class and finally decided just to share my notes (and thoughts) chapter by chapter. So here’s chapter 1.

Chapter 1 - Reference Service Overview

Reference service consists of four major activities: Ÿ

1. Answering patron questionsŸ
2. Teaching how to use the libraryŸ
3. Advising users (recommending materials)Ÿ
4. Promoting the library and its services within the community

There are several different methods of evaluating the effectiveness of a reference transaction. The four methods discussed in this class are obtrusive, unobtrusive, willingness to return, and WOREP.

Obtrusive – The librarian is observed while working with patrons. The observer listens to the question and follows the librarian through the reference process, but does not intervene.

Unobtrusive – The librarian is asked test questions by observers posing as patrons. The answers to the test questions are known by the evaluator, who then determines the accuracy of the response. This study may be conducted by phone, email or instant messaging as well as in person.

Willingness to return – Actual patrons are asked to evaluate how well the librarian met their information needs. This method focuses on “willingness to return: -- whether or not the patron would return to the same librarian with a future question.

WOREP – The Wisconsin-Ohio Reference Evaluation Program is a two-part survey form used for rating the accuracy of a reference transaction. One part is completed by the librarian, one part by the patron. The data is analyzed by computer, which matches the librarian and patron responses. To be considered accurate, both the patron and the librarian must indicate that the question was answered correctly and completely.

Here are a couple of things that particularly interested me in this chapter:

Both unobtrusive evaluation and the WOREP, which measure the accuracy of a transaction, indicate that no matter what type or size library is tested, the average performance of a reference librarian is to answer 55% of the questions correctly.

Willingness to return studies show that patron satisfaction does NOT depend on the accuracy of the information received. A study at the University of Michigan showed that patrons who get a wrong answer – and know for a fact that they received the wrong answer – are still willing to return if the librarian was personable, helpful, and made a strong effort to answer the question. The study also showed that patrons who get the right answer are not willing to return if they perceive the librarian as arrogant, uninterested, or unhelpful.