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Byrd, susannah MississiPPi ¡Bienvenidos!: ¡Welcome!: A Handy Resource Guide for Marketing Your Library to Latinos. ALA/Cinco Puntos, 2005 110p Paper ed. ISBN 0-8389-0902-7 $20.00 Based upon the successful work being done in public libraries already serving predominately Latino populations, this extremely useful handbook is designed for libraries just beginning to provide services to this growing segment of the population. The text is organized around “five elements to consider when building an effective and comprehensive marketing and outreach strategy whose goal is to actively welcome Latinos,” and each chapter focuses on one of these elements: knowledge of the Latino community being served, responsive collection development, library services and programming, outreach and publicity, and access considerations. The chapters are clearly composed and specifically focused on Latino cultures, so that readers gain not just general programming tips but structured recommendations honed from first-hand experience. Several themes echo throughout the guidebook, most notably to not make assumptions about a particular population based on biases and misconceptions but to ask the focal population for input and guidance and involve community members in the development of programs, services, and collections. Existing organizations that are available to provide assistance (e.g. REFORMA, the National Association to Promote Library Services to Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking) are cited throughout, and contact information is included. The second half of this slim volume is devoted to a comprehensive guide to the Spanish-speaking marketplace, including directories of wholesalers and distributors, publishers, audio publishers, and video publishers. This is a must-have resource for public libraries looking to expand service offerings for Latino populations, and it would function effectively as a staff guide for redirecting efforts toward Latino outreach. HM fiore, carole d. Fiore’s Summer Library Reading Program Handbook. NealSchuman, 2005 312p Paper ed. ISBN 1-55570-513-8 $65.00 This research-laden handbook by eminent librarian and former ALA president Fiore serves as a “comprehensive program-planning and implementation tool” for public libraries seeking to revamp, revise, or develop a summer library reading program. Noting that libraries can play an enormous part in supporting learning during the months when school is not in session, Fiore explores the role of public libraries in increasing reading skills and contributing to academic success. Much of the text is designed to advocate for summer reading programs: Fiore cites nationally based research studies on education, the poverty divide, and literacy throughout the text. She firmly supports the notion that libraries have a far greater role to play in the community than as host to a few isolated programs over the course of the summer, and she effectively supports this thesis throughout. The text is organized into four parts: the first explores the history and research base of summer reading programs, the second discusses planning and serving a community of users, the
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third offers more detailed information on organizing and promoting a program, and the fourth guides users through designing and evaluating programs as well as highlighting specific summer reading programs throughout the United States. This is an invaluable resource, both for its concrete guidance and its abstract exploration of the meaning of summer library programs, and public libraries will especially benefit from the wealth of information provided. Each chapter concludes with endnotes and comprehensive lists of further reading which offer a wealth of additional information for users. Several appendices list examples of summer library program themes, and an index is included. HM ThoMas, reBecca l. Popular Series Fiction for K-6 Readers: A Reading and Selection Guide; by Rebecca L. Thomas and Catherine Barr. Libraries Unlimited, 2005 799p (Children’s and Young Adult Literature Reference) ISBN 1-59158-203-2 $50.00 Series fiction has always held great appeal for young readers; the opportunity to follow the adventures of a character or cast of characters through several books offers a much sought-after sense of connection. For the average librarian, however, it can be daunting to keep up with the hundreds of series books published each year, let alone their commonalities and appeal. This extensive reference source provides an alphabetical listing of over 1,200 series for K-6 students. Included titles were selected based on information found in review and reference sources as well as online sources (publisher’s websites, author websites, online vendors). For purposes of selection, series is defined as “content-based groupings of books with a consistent theme, setting, or group of characters”; other criteria include a minimum of three available titles (though series expected to grow are listed in an appendix) and an emphasis on newer collections (though many classics are included). The result is a bibliography that includes Pippi Longstocking and Byars’ Blossom family chronicles as well as mass-market series such as Goosebumps and Animorphs. Citations include series title, author, publisher, grade level, availability of A/R quizzes, genre, narrative description, and a chronological listing of titles; of particular use is the frequent indication of a series’ likely fan base or use possibility. An author index and title index provide further access to users, and a genre and subject index allows users to cross-reference topically (so that you can find all series about horses or dragons, for example). While the selection criteria are a bit vague (the authors seem to have pieced information together from a wide range of sources) and some access points are omitted (ISBNs would be helpful, as would groupings by grade level), this remains a useful resource for collection development, reader’s advisory, and ready reference. HM