From WebJunction -- a couple of SLO-related webinars in November. One is tomorrow (11/10) -- sorry for the short notice.

Reaching Spanish-speaking Agricultural Communities
On November 10 Patricia Rempel, University of Alberta; and José Garcia, King County Library System, will share research on perceived use of public access computers by Spanish speakers in rural Washington. The webinar will include real-life examples of library use in these rural communities and the results of outreach efforts by the libraries studied. More info and registration » http://evanced.info/webjunction/evanced/eventsignup.asp?ID=1624


Using Social Media to Make the Case for Supporting Library Services
On November 19 learn the background of social websites, how to use these websites for advocacy, and how to advocate for services for Latinos and Spanish speakers. A panel of guest speakers include Meredith Farkas, Norwich University; Fiona Bradley, IFLA; Marci Merola, ALA; Max Macias, Portland Community College; and Loida Garcia-Febo, Queens Library. More info and registration » http://evanced.info/webjunction/evanced/eventsignup.asp?ID=1623

Chef Jorge

Chef Jorge Morales was born in Miami of Colombian heritage He now lives in Stevensville and has a gourmet catering business called Cafe Mundo . Jorge gave a demonstration of how to prepare two recipes (one from Costa Rica, one from Mexico) along with cultural background of the country's cuisine and the history of each recipe.

Fiesta Latina

Here you see members of the North Valley public Library Spanish Conversation Group who did most of the decorating, cooking and organizing of what turned out to be the most attended event in the 100 year history of the Library with over 160 people.

Final report on Hispanic Heritage Month at North Valley Public Library

It was a fast paced, event filled month! So many new faces and new ideas. Some of the events that took place were historical and cultural presentations, travelogues, musical and dance performances and cooking demonstrations. We were able to work with "Global Grizzlies" the student-run organization from U. of M. doing work in developing countries, nationally recognized musicians performing Mariachi and Flamenco music, native people from Chile, Guatemala and Mexico, world travelers, and a chef from Colombia. Watch for some photos of events to follow this post.

Piñata Fun and Latin Dance Night!

On Thursday, Oct. 8, Missoula Public Library celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month with a fun-filled day of events. In the afternoon, we learned how to decorate piñatas with Eileen Cummings of "Spanish Anyone?"



Then we turned down the lights and turned up the music for Latin Dance Night. Missoula's local Flamenco group Patio Andaluz gave a beautiful performance of a variety of flamenco dances.




Members of the Downtown Dance Collective demonstrated salsa moves so fast that we could not even catch it on camera! However, they did slow things down a bit teach the audience some basic moves. Everyone also enjoyed tapas from Columbia, Mexico and Spain from The Silk Road.

Fiesta Latina a HUGE Success!

Our 2nd annual Hispanic Heritage celebration "Fiesta Latina" was a huge success. This event was the kick-off for our month long celebration of independence (from Spain) for seven Latin & South American countries. Fiesta Latina was a record breaking library event: 160+ people attended - more than any other event in the history of our library! Our Spanish conversation Group donated most of the food which featured recipes from each country. Oscar Macz from Guatemala performed native guitar music and sang traditional songs. Kimberlee Carlson and friend Maria performed several dances from various countries and encouraged many folks to join in the dancing. Fun was had all and photos will follow soon as well as reports about our travelogues.

Planning continues for Hispanic Heritage Month

This is what we did this week for our Hispanic Heritage project:
1. Submitted our application for a Humanities Montana Opportunity Grant
2. Sent out our press releases
3. Contacted two radio stations regarding possible interviews
4. Created a brightly colored poster
5. Talked to a sign shop about a vinyl banner
6. Attended a Missoula salsa dance for networking
7. Secured a speaker to present travelogue on Chile
8. Contacted UM advisor to Foreign Students about presentation on Guatemala
9. Updated our NVPL website calendar of events
Busy week! Very exciting to see and hear the enthusiasm from so many, both Latin Americans and others. Next week: create the banner for outside the library, research where to obtain affordable maps and flags of our targeted countries to display, research traditional recipes.