By Theresa Goffredo
Herald Writer
EVERETT — Everett’s Public Library may soon have money to buy its first set of Vietnamese books, be able to print library brochures in four different languages and expand its Arabic, Hispanic and Russian collections
On Wednesday, Everett Mayor Ed Hansen signed the paperwork allowing library officials to seek a federal Library Services and Technology Act grant of $34,660. The money would make it possible for the library to afford a number of outreach programs in its effort to improve service to the city’s ever-growing immigrant population.
The Washington State Library disperses the grant to public libraries on a competitive basis. Everett officials will know by June whether they will receive the money.
In addition to buying more foreign language and English as a second language materials, library officials also plan to hold open houses to get the word out around town. The open houses would include native language performers and appropriate entertainment, such as a mariachi band for Hispanic night.
Also planned is a promotional flier translated in Arabic, Russian, Spanish and Vietnamese and designed to detail the library’s many programs and services. These fliers will be distributed through social service agencies that serve new immigrants.
"For some of these populations, the public library is a foreign concept," Eileen Simmons, the library’s assistant director, said. "And a flier would give them a sense of it’s OK to come in here, and to tell them that we have things that might be of interest to you, so that is a big part of it."
The library began addressing the need to reach out to new non-English speaking residents about two years ago by establishing a Russian and Spanish language collection, increasing the size of its ESL collection and offering Internet classes in Spanish.
Though substantial, these efforts have not proved adequate to keep up with new immigrant arrivals, library officials wrote in the grant application form.
For example, the library’s Evergreen branch has no foreign language materials, and the bookmobile reported unmet demands for children’s books in Arabic.
"Immigrant populations are too large for our small foreign language collections, and budgetary pressures will allow us to grow these collections only slowly," the grant application read.
In 2000, the Everett Public School District reported 177 Russian speakers enrolled along with 164 Ukrainian speakers. The district also reported that in 2000 there were 93 Arabic speakers, 115 Vietnamese speakers and 183 Spanish speakers enrolled.
The Center for Immigration Statistics reported in October 2001 that 2,045 people from Eastern Europe had settled in Snohomish County from 1991 to 1998, with most of them settling in Everett. During the same period, 1,288 Vietnamese immigrated to the county.
"We’ve got good partners and a good plan and we hope the money is there," Simmons said.
You can call Herald Writer Theresa Goffredo at 425-339-3097
or send e-mail to goffredo@heraldnet.com.
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