“Nation’s Population One-Third Minority” reads the headline of a news release from the U.S. Census Bureau dated May 10, 2006. The release states that Hispanics are the fastest-growing and largest group at 42.7 million.
Aware that the U.S. Latino population is estimated to have a disposable income of 1 trillion, many major corporations have initiated a Latino outreach division. For complex reasons, many large publishing companies have yet to make a full commitment to this population. Children’s book publishers don’t yet find it compelling that, for example, Hispanics were 17% of the public school population K-12 in 2000, 19% in 2004 and growing since this population is younger than the national average, 1/3 under 18 years of age.
I’d like to believe that although publishing is a business, many publishers are committed to sharing bookjoy and fostering a nation of readers. The following are suggestions to publishers for outreach to U.S. Latino children and families and the libraries and schools that serve them.
- Hire competent, creative Latino staff committed to building your Latino line in upper-level editorial and marketing positions and invest in their visibility in the school and library market.
- Charge your editorial and marketing staff with developing in- depth knowledge of the Latino consumer population: demographics, needs, values, buying patterns.
- Assess your catalog. Since you value authenticity, what percentage of your books are by Latinos?
- Publish, promote and package your books in ways that assist teachers and librarians, most of whom are non-Spanish speakers, to meet the literacy needs of their Latin students/families/patrons.
- Be as creative about your Latino initiative as you are about other
major literacy projects/target markets remembering that this highly diverse population is described as “loyal” by marketers.
- Form strong, positive relationships with national Latino advocacy
organizations with a strong literacy focus such as the American Library Association (ALA) affiliate REFORMA (The National Association To Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-speaking). Include members in your special events and listen to their suggestions.
- Assess your guest list for conference events to insure the presence of Latina/o conference attendees.
- Budget promotions for Latina/o authors and illustrators to build name recognition.
- Budget attendance and high visibility at events such as the National Association of Bilingual Education (NABE).
- Connect your books and promotions (posters, book marks, etc.)
with Latino celebrations such as Hispanic Heritage Month (mid-September to Mid-October) and El día de los niños/El día de los libros, Children’s Day/Book Day, a daily commitment to link all children to books, languages and cultures that culminates in a national celebration annually on April 30th. This family literacy initiative is now housed at Association for Library Services to Children (ALSC), www.ala.org/dia.
- Pat Mora, June, 2006
