The Spanish collection at the Hunter Branch Library has increased tenfold in the past year and a half, building to meet a growing population in the Salt Lake area.
Using $10,000 in grant money approved for use this year, the library has purchased and will continue to purchase new videos and books on tape, and books on history and politics and English as a second language.Also, materials on child care, religion, home remodeling, cooking, crafts and other self-help areas, poetry, biographies, dictionaries and magazines have been purchased. In addition, contemporary and classic fiction titles by Latin American and Hispanic-American authors and English translations have been selected.
"We're buying materials that would represent the Hispanic-American community in the United States as well as the peoples of Mexico, Central and South America," said Rosemary McAtee, a Hunter librarian.
The goal is to make available to Spanish-speaking patrons the same types of materials found in the English collection.
Hunter librarians say they welcome suggestions regarding authors, titles or subjects. The library will have the largest collection of Spanish materials, but items are available throughout the county system, especially at West Valley, Kearns and Tyler libraries, officials say.
Several library handouts, including library card applications, borrowing rules and library directories, are being translated into Spanish and may be available within the next month, McAtee said.
She estimated that approximately 7 to 8 percent of the West Valley area population is Hispanic.
"Some of the new library materials have attracted some of these people to the library. That is a plus for the people in the community and for the library," she added.