Filling a Literary Gap

In the age of the Internet and warehouse-size megastores, when books on most any subject and by most any author seem easy to find, some Latinos have noticed a lack of availability in one category:

Works by Latino writers.

“Finding certain books is a problem, because when you are talking specifically about books from small publishers or from Latin America, they are not available,” said Kirk Whistler, a publisher of Latino media directories. “The vast majority of U.S. Latino book publishers are not carried.”

To help fill this literary gap, the third annual Latino Book and Family Festival will be held next Saturday and Sunday at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

The event will include six “villages” organized on topics such as books, health and education, and feature more than 50 authors, about 700 information booths, readings by authors and theatrical performances.

Produced by actor-director Edward James Olmos, the event is sponsored jointly by the 3-year-old Latino Book and Family Festival organization and the nonprofit Latino Literary Hall of Fame.

“There aren’t too many places across the U.S. where you have so many [Latino] books and authors in one place,” said Orange County bookstore owner Rueben Martinez, who hopes that Latino youth will connect with some of the authors traveling from Mexico, Spain and Guatemala.

“We know that the Latino community is growing fast, so what we need to do is to educate people,” said Martinez, who will oversee the book village. “Our mission for the festival is to build communities of readers for young people . . . to start reading at a young age.”

Improving literacy rates is a concern in the Latino community, said Romelia Salinas, president of the nonprofit group Reforma, the National Assn. to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking.

According to 1992 figures from the State Literacy Resource Center of California, about 35% of the 740,000 Latino men under age 35 in Los Angeles County were not literate in English. For Latino women under 35, the proportion was about 33% of 615,000, the center reported.

Nationally, 21% of all adults perform at the lowest levels of English literacy, according to the National Council of La Raza. Latinos, who make up 11% of the U.S. population, account for 23% of individuals at this low level, said Lisa Navarrete, deputy vice president of the organization. La Raza’s report is based on the National Adult Literacy Survey of 1992.

According to the California Department of Education, more Latino public high school students, who constitute the largest population in the school system, dropped out statewide in the 1997-98 school year than youths of any other ethnicity.

In percentages, Latinos have the third-highest dropout rate in the state, behind African Americans and Native Americans.

Richard Chabran of Reforma, which will be represented at the festival, believes that the event can help boost literacy.

“This kind of event is not a common one throughout the country,” Chabran said. “What’s unique about it is that you get a lot of different segments of the population involved.”

The availability of books by Latino authors may play a big part in increasing literacy, he said.

In general, books by Latinos are becoming more common at Barnes & Noble and other large bookstores, but shops devoted exclusively to serving the Latino community have essentially vanished, unable to compete with the megastores, Chabran said.

Barnes & Noble has sections for Spanish-language books in some stores and books by Latino authors throughout various other categories, said Debra Williams, director of corporate communications for the company.

About 200 of the chain’s 519 stores nationwide have Spanish language sections--with up to 3,000 titles in each store. And by year’s end, Williams said, the company expects about 300 stores to have such sections.

Amazon.com tries to carry every book that is in print, and it features authors whose works are not carried by bigger publishers, said company spokeswoman Lizzie Allen.

But in order to offer books from smaller publishers, she said, Amazon.com relies on those companies or authors to initiate contact. “We can’t go out and search out everybody,” Allen said.

Meantime, those pushing for more access to Latino books and authors hope events such as the festival can do their part.

“We’re working to help the mainstream book industry, both booksellers and book publishers, better understand the dynamics and needs of the Latino community,” Whistler said.

For more information on the festival, call (323) 255-9206 or check out the Web site at www.latinofestivals.com.

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SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA LIVING

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