The school library media center and the promotion of literature for Hispanic children

In the next question, respondents were asked whether book selection was centralized or at the school level, and to describe the process they followed for the purchase of new titles. Book selection was accomplished at the school level in forty-six of the schools surveyed and centralized in fifteen schools with one school not responding. This survey question did not limit the acquisition process to materials in Spanish but rather included the process of acquiring library holdings in general. The majority of the respondents stated that they acquired their materials by a variety of means, such as teacher recommendations (n=25); student recommendations (n=21); to fulfill curriculum needs (n=10); through reviews in professional journals such as The School Library Journal (n=16); Booklist (n=12); and other professional journals (n=10). Fifteen respondents mentioned that an important source for identifying books for consideration was the monthly district meeting where librarians reviewed new titles.

The subsequent three questions sought to determine how Spanish materials were selected. Respondents were asked if their school or district had a Spanish materials review committee, what criteria they had for evaluating Spanish-language materials, and how the review committee was selected.

Fifty respondents said "no" to the question asking them if they had a Spanish materials review committee, eleven answered "yes", and one did not respond to this item. In terms of how the review committee was selected, only nine responses were received. The review committee consisted of bilingual teachers (three schools), the library clerk and bilingual teachers (one school), the school's reading specialist (one school), and those who expressed an interest in making book selection (one school). In two instances, the selection committee for Spanish book selection was at the district level, and, in one case, the principal and the advisory board of the school appointed the Spanish-language materials review committee. Finally, the third question asked if the school had guidelines by which Spanish materials were selected. Forty-eight respondents answered "no", thirteen answered "yes", and one respondent did not answer the question. Three schools reported having no formally written criteria, and three schools stated that they used the same selection criteria that they use for English-language materials. In two schools, the bilingual teachers established the criteria, and in one, it was established by the bilingual chairperson. Four different schools reported that their criteria for selection were: (1) relevancy to thematic and individual needs; (2) quality of literature; (3) attractiveness, accuracy, and quality of binding; and (4) that the material not be stereotypic.

Another survey question addressed the cooperative agreements of the school media center with other schools and with the public library and if the agreements included services for Hispanic children. Twenty-three schools reported that they had cooperative agreements with other schools, and eighteen schools stated that they had agreements with local libraries; twenty-two schools did not respond. Additionally, thirty-three schools declared that their agreements, both with other schools and public libraries, included services for Hispanic children.