Elgin librarians travel to Mexico for books

It might seem counterintuitive to have to travel 2,000 miles to purchase books in the era of Amazon and other online shopping options, but Elgin librarians say that's the best way to serve the needs of their Spanish-speaking patrons.

The Gail Borden Public Library received Wednesday the first shipment of Spanish-language books purchased during a trip to the Guadalajara International Book Fair, in Guadalajara, Mexico, about two months ago. Altogether, the library bought 300 books for adults and about 450 books for children, all in Spanish.

The fair attracts nearly 2,000 publishers from 44 countries — including in Europe and Asia — who either publish in Spanish or translate works in Spanish, said Tina Viglucci, Hispanic services manager at Gail Borden. Staff members attend the fair every two years.

The Spanish-language book market in the U.S. is limited mostly to best-sellers, which can't be the only thing the library carries, Viglucci said.

“It's important for us to find the materials that best fit the needs of our users,” she said. “They have to be culturally appropriate, language appropriate, and they have to be in line with people's preferences.”

People want books relevant to their daily lives, she said. “Job-seeking right now is very popular,” she said. “How to explore different careers, how to find the right match for your interests, how to set goals. Very practical things.”

It's also imperative to have up-to-date books on topics such as parenting and health, because new research and information is constantly being published, she said.

Viglucci attended the fair in Mexico with children's librarian Tina Birkholz; their trip was partly funded by a $400 grant from the American Library Association, said Denise Raleigh, division chief of public relations and communications. Altogether, the library spent a little over $7,000, or about half its Spanish-language budget, at the fair.

Other purchases included books on working with people with special needs, and instructional books for sign language and Braille, Viglucci said. CDs and DVDs were purchased as well.

“We try to get books that can be relevant (to patrons) in a responsible manner, and we also have to be responsive to their needs,”she said.

All of the materials from the fair are expected to arrive by the end of February and be on the shelves by the end of March, depending on the size of each shipment, Raleigh said.

Gail Borden's Spanish-language collection — which serves the library's second-largest market — comprises 23,137 items, out of 531,893 carried by the library, she said. Altogether, there are materials in 22 languages.

“In our Hispanic community, more people use the library than not, which is a wonderful statistic,” Raleigh said. “We still seek to get additional people to use the library, Hispanics and everyone else.”