Grant Opens World of Books to Latinos

Jesus Garcia studiously scanned the Spanish-language section of the Oceanside Public Library, searching for just the right book or video to help him learn English so he can become an electrician.

“It’s very necessary in this country to learn English, for work more than anything,” Garcia, 26, said in Spanish through a translator. He is determined to move up from his current job refinishing furniture.

There are not many libraries in his native Mexico, and except for students and professionals, the general public is not inclined to peruse the normally sparse volumes at the few libraries there are.

So libraries are a new experience for Garcia, whose fifth sojourn to Oceanside’s library downtown at Hill and 3rd streets represented something of an adventure that is playing a big part in shaping his life and his aspirations.

“It’s important to get a lot of information about work and the legal rights for employees,” said Garcia, who has lived in Oceanside off and on for four years.

This is Oceanside’s first year in a grant-funded program to provide specialized library service to the Latino community, estimated at 27% of the city’s 125,000 population.

While neighboring Carlsbad initially balked at applying for a grant to establish a similar program, library officials and Latinos in Oceanside are buoyant over how fast their program has caught on.

One bit of evidence: 464 Latinos have taken out library cards since the program, called “Adelante” (“Forward”), began last December after the grant was approved in September.

Another: 3,399 Spanish-language books and videos were checked out in July, up from 1,753 during February, when word of the program was beginning to spread.

“When they see part of the staff speaks Spanish, they get more confident and feel more comfortable” about using the library, said Maria Ortiz, a bilingual clerk in the program.

The city was awarded nearly $205,000 in federal funds administered through the California State Library. Oceanside is the only city besides San Diego in this county to win first-year funding to introduce the library to the Latino community.

Under the program, the Oceanside library has not only increased its stock of Spanish-language books and videos, but it also has added pamphlets about parenting, AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, how to craft a resume, how to apply for citizenship and more.

In October, the program will go into Latino neighborhoods as a $69,000 vehicle, actually a modified catering truck, begins making the rounds.

“Instead of giving out ice cream, we’ll give out information,” said Barbara Bale, a supervising public health nurse for the Oceanside Public Health Center.

The center has forged a partnership with the library to serve the Latino community under the program.

While the truck offers books, videos, pamphlets and story hour for children, a bilingual public health nurse will hold curbside classes on nutrition and prenatal care.

“Quite often, not speaking English has been a barrier to receiving health care,” Bale said.

Both library and health officials long have known there was a need to better reach the Latino population, and a survey in 1989 that led to applying for the library grant confirmed their assessment.

A survey of 185 Latinos revealed that 34% said they needed information about medical care, including where to find services and how to learn about health insurance.

According to Oceanside’s grant application, countywide 40% to 60% of the babies born to mothers who had no prenatal care were Latino, and Oceanside in 1987 had the second-highest rate in the county of mothers who had no prenatal care.

The survey also found that 60% of those who responded did not know that a city library existed.

“They were basically unaware of the library altogether,” said Hispanic Services Librarian Grace Francisco.

Bale added, “We’re talking about a population that moved here as adults and didn’t have an introduction to the library through the school system.”

Oceanside’s decision to apply for the library grant was approved by the City Council and the library’s Board of Trustees. The program’s inaugural year is totally grant-funded, but during the next four years funding will be 65% annually, leaving the city to pay the remainder.

“This city is committed to keeping it going,” said Francisco.

In Carlsbad recently, Latino activists became angry when a city administrator, worried about the potential financial impact on the city, decided not to put the grant application on the City Council agenda.

After a Latino protest, Carlsbad Mayor Bud Lewis brought the matter before the council, which voted 5 to 0 to apply for a grant, but keep the right to refuse the money if the grant does not fit the city’s budget plan for library service.

Back in Oceanside, Maria Padilla and five of her six children are browsing among the books and magazines at a small, circular table.

Unlike Garcia, who only recently learned of the library’s special program at his English as a second language class, Padilla is a minority among Latinos. She discovered the library seven years ago, and visits frequently.

She is happy with the library’s new program, but she has one suggestion. She thinks the Spanish language materials should be moved from their small space near the wall. It would make Latinos feel more “comfortable” in the library if they could be out in the open, she said.