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FAQ


 

WHAT IS LIBROS FOR OREGON?
Libros for Oregon (LfO for short) began in July of 2016 as a two-year LSTA -funded project
entitled “Libros for Oregon: Collections Connect Communities.” In July 2018, Libros for Oregon
became a subcommittee of OLA ’s REFORMA Oregon Round Table . The goal of the project is to
increase access to high-quality Spanish language books for the users of Oregon libraries,
particularly smaller, rural libraries, by helping more libraries take advantage of the resources of
the Guadalajara Book Fair (or FIL), the largest Spanish-language book fair in the world.
More information can be found on Libros for Oregon’s website , and in occasional updates on
LfO’s Facebook page . You can also read more about the project in this short article written for OLAQ by project coordinator Deborah Gitlitz in 2017.


WHY BUY BOOKS AT THE GUADALAJARA BOOK FAIR?
Spanish is the second most-spoken language in Oregon. However, Oregon’s libraries lack easy
access to high quality, culturally relevant books in Spanish for our 500,000 Hispanic/Latino
community members. Many such books, especially children’s books and others written originally
in Spanish, are simply not available in the United States. According to LSTA’s Best Practices,
2016: “Few good solutions exist for libraries that wish to expand their foreign language
collections with the needs and preferences of their patrons in mind. Materials offered by
standard vendors are sparse and often lack popular appeal, while those available from smaller
international vendors can be low-quality and subject to extremely short print runs.” The
Guadalajara International Book Fair (FIL) is the largest Spanish-language book fair in the world,
providing access to materials not easily available through our usual channels in the United
States.


HOW DOES IT WORK?
The Libros for Oregon committee selects eight libraries to participate in the consortium each
year. Additionally, three representatives will be selected to travel to the Guadalajara Book Fair
(FIL) in November to buy materials on behalf of the eight participating libraries.
Every participating library will be required to submit plans and subsequent reports for three
outreach activities to connect their Spanish-language collection with their community. More
information can be found below in the Outreach section.
The three representatives selected to travel to the FIL must (once selected) be personal ALA
members and have valid passports. More information can be found below in the Travelers
section.
Libros for Oregon will work with vendors at the FIL, who will ship the selected materials to the
purchasing libraries and provide them invoices.
Additional resources and information can be found on the Libros for Oregon website .

WHO CAN PARTICIPATE?
Any public or school library in the state of Oregon can apply to participate. In the future it may
be possible for other types of libraries to participate.
LfO strives for balanced representation among the 8 selected libraries. We consider geographic
region, past participation, a mix of experience levels, service population characteristics, and
more. Our goal is to pair inexperienced libraries and Travelers with those who have experience
and can serve as mentors.


HOW DOES MY LIBRARY APPLY TO PARTICIPATE?
Application guidance can be found on our Apply page.


WHAT’S THE TIMELINE TO APPLY AND PARTICIPATE?
Here is the timeline for participants.


IS IT EXPENSIVE?
Participating libraries will designate amounts from their own selection budgets (up to $2000) to
pay for materials purchased on their behalf at FIL. The vendor will invoice each library directly.
Many conference expenses for FIL attendees, including conference registration and 3-6 nights
at the hotel, will be covered by the ALA-FIL Free Pass program. The eight libraries selected to
participate in Libros for Oregon will each contribute funds (in 2018, $200) toward the travel
expenses of the three staff representatives selected to attend the FIL on behalf of the
consortium.
The combined funds (total $1600) will be used to pay the airfare, ground transportation, per
diem, and incidental costs incurred by the three travelers representing the consortium. Travelers
and/or their libraries will need to pay their travel costs upfront, and will be reimbursed by LfO
after the trip.
Although we project that the funds collected from participating libraries should prove sufficient to
cover all travel costs, if they prove insufficient, each participant’s library will need to arrange with
them how to cover any extra funds required.


DO YOU HAVE TO SPEAK SPANISH (OR HAVE SPANISH-SPEAKING STAFF) TO
PARTICIPATE?

No, it is not required that staff at the participating libraries, or even the three selected Travelers,
speak Spanish.
For Travelers: The ALA-FIL partnership provides some infrastructure, orientation and guidance
to help non-Spanish speakers navigate the FIL successfully. This includes some bilingual staff
at the hotel and the Expo Center; a shuttle between the hotel and the Expo Center; an on-site 

orientation; and plenty of other library staff from the US with whom to network, among other
things. A buyer can also choose to work with a vendor who provides a bilingual assistant, and
LfO typically does this. However, speaking Spanish is certainly an asset in navigating the town,
the FIL, and the selection of materials in Spanish, and it helps if at least one of the Travelers
speaks Spanish.


WE’D LIKE TO PARTICIPATE, BUT WE CAN’T SEND ANYONE TO GUADALAJARA. IS
THAT OKAY?

Yes.
Three staff from the eight participating libraries will be selected to attend the FIL on behalf of the
consortium each year. Our mentorship model requires that at least one of these three Travelers
must have attended on behalf of LfO in a previous year, and at least one of the three must be a
new LfO participant.
The LfO committee will consider many variables in selecting participating libraries each year.


HOW DO WE BUY THE BOOKS? HOW DO THEY GET TO US?
Three representatives will be making purchases at the FIL on behalf of the eight participating
libraries, working from budgets of $500, $1000, $1500, or $2000 allocated from those libraries’
selection budgets. They will make purchases in various categories (mainly adult and youth
fiction and nonfiction) on behalf of all eight libraries. Each participating library will indicate their
selection preferences in a Purchase Request/Authorization form.
LfO will work with experienced vendors at the FIL, who will be responsible for shipping materials
to their headquarters in the US and then to the eight purchasing libraries, and who will provide
libraries with their individual invoices. Typically shipping and invoicing occurs in December and
January.


WE’D LIKE TO PARTICIPATE AND SEND SOMEONE TO GUADALAJARA. DO THEY HAVE
TO TRAVEL WITH THE REST OF THE LFO TEAM? OR CAN THEY COMBINE LFO AND
VACATION TRAVEL?

Although the Travelers must commit to certain work days in Guadalajara, and are welcome to
coordinate travel plans, it is up to each Traveler to make their own travel arrangements. Other
Travelers have added time to their trip to experience more of Mexico.


WHAT’S THE ALA-FIL FREE PASS PROGRAM?
The ALA-FIL FREE PASS Program provides participating ALA members with:
● 3 nights at the business hotel (6 nights if you share a room with a colleague who is also
part of the program)
● 3 (or 6) continental breakfasts
● FIL Registration, courtesy of FIL
● $100 toward the cost of airfare, courtesy of ALA.

HOW DOES OUTREACH FIT INTO IT?
Outreach can help us reach potential library users who may not know much about the library’s
collections, services, and commitment to community relevance and accessibility. All libraries
selected to participate in the Libros for Oregon program will be required to submit and enact
plans for at least three appropriate outreach activities (these can be existing programs or new
ones) to promote FIL materials to their Latino/Spanish-speaking population and engage Spanish
speakers with their library. They will also be asked to submit short outreach reports which can
be posted on the website as examples for future participants.


WHO ORGANIZES LIBROS FOR OREGON?
Libros for Oregon began as a two-year LSTA grant coordinated by Deborah Gitlitz of Wilsonville
Public Library and an Advisory Council. The fiscal agent during the grant period was LINCC
(Libraries in Clackamas County), under their official auspices of “Clackamas County Business &
Community Services.” In 2018 the project became a subcommittee of OLA’s REFORMA Round
Table. More info here .


WHERE CAN I FIND ANSWERS TO MORE OF MY QUESTIONS?
There is very detailed information about the project and its processes in the Application
Instructions & Information .


I STILL HAVE QUESTIONS!
Feel free to contact us with any more questions.
 

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