ORANGE, SANTA ANA : Libraries to Target Latinos, Vietnamese

Libraries in Orange, Santa Ana and Fullerton, trying to attract more Latino and Vietnamese customers, have received state grants to help target that audience.

The grants were among 20 awarded through Partnerships for Change, a state program targeting blacks, Latinos, Asians, American Indians and other groups.

“More than 50% of children enrolled in schools are ethnic children,” said Kathy Buxton, children and youth services consultant for the state. “We want to make sure we are serving that population.”

“It’s not that the library hasn’t been here, but some people haven’t used it because they weren’t aware of it or what it had to offer,” said Fullerton City Librarian Carolyn Johnson.

The libraries receiving grants are buying new materials, launching publicity campaigns and hiring bilingual employees.

Fullerton is using its $80,266 grant to draw Latino children to its main branch.

Fullerton librarians will work closely with principals and teachers at nearby elementary schools to select 25 “magnet” families who will be the core of the program. Johnson said she hopes those families will have a ripple effect on the rest of the community.

Orange is also targeting Latino residents, but is focusing on adolescents.

Using an $82,080 grant, the Orange library will open Friendly Stop, a drop-in center in a building at the Friendly Center. Kerry Stern, library manager, said the library hopes to open the satellite center by Jan. 2.

“There’s so many things that the library offers that the teens just don’t know about,” said Becky Palomino, program coordinator at the Friendly Center.

Santa Ana’s program will target Vietnamese residents near its Newhope Branch Library, said Donna Minnick, head librarian at the branch.

“We think about a third of the users are Vietnamese,” Minnick said. “But we think there’s quite an untapped group that don’t know about the library.”

The Santa Ana library will use its $48,786 grant to buy Vietnamese books and videotapes, two IBM computers and software, and materials pertaining to citizenship and English as a second language.

All three cities’ programs were designed after library staffs worked with community coalitions and performed needs-assessment surveys.