My buddy Josh, a Spanish instructor at Wake Tech, once told me, in response to my fears about finding a job post-graduation, that as long as I knew basic computer skills and was able to speak Spanish I would have no trouble finding employment. That's of course an over-simplified list of qualifications, but I had never really before considered the importance (the necessity?) of knowing how to speak Spanish in a public library setting. It turns out that it's a skill that might well be essential.
I graduated from Carolina in 2010 with a minor in Spanish. Since graduation, I've not have much occasion to use the language and have consequently forgotten a good deal of it. Should I go into public librarianship, I think it's a skill that I will definitely want to brush up on once again.
DCL has a staff member who serves as the system's Hispanic services librarian. (I can't find her name on the website, so I can't be sure if that's her official title.) The fact that such a position exists demonstrates that there is a real need for this sort of language provider within the library community. You can see the Hispanic influence in some of the events that the library hosts. There are bilingual storytimes for children and, at a workshop on cancer prevention a couple of weeks ago, an interpreter was on hand to provide simultaneous translation while the talk was being held. It's a trend that I have no doubt will continue to develop over the next several years.
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