The Tustin Library was alive with language Monday, as kids danced, sang songs and were read “If You Give a Pig a Pancake,” in Spanish and English.
After the bilingual storytime, Piggy, the book’s main character, greeted children who were also offered a hot lunch, another part of the OC Public Libraries’ programs this summer aimed at feeding readers.
Matthias Flores, 4, is excited to show his mother, Ruby Cardenas, a Mariokart book while his sister Lucia Flores, 2, searches for her book at Tustin Library on Monday, June 3, 2024. They were at the ¡OHSÍ!, kickoff summer program. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Nora Guillen holds her 1-year-old granddaughter, Reni, as they listen to the nursery rhyme, “Ten Little Fingers,” in Spanish and in English at Tustin Library on Monday, June 3, 2024. It was the kickoff of a bilingual marketing campaign, ¡OHSÍ! (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Dozens of children and their parents take part in English/Spanish Storytime at Tustin Library on Monday, June 3, 2024. It is part of “Oh si!,” a pilot program that targets the Spanish community and provides activities and a hot lunch for anyone under 18. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Sylvia Paredes reads a book about trucks to her 2-year-old son, Hendrix, at the Tustin Library on Monday, June 3, 2024. She just learned about the bilingual “Oh si!” a program that provides activities and a lunch for anyone under 18. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Library assistant Carl Phillips escorts Piggy into the Tustin Library on Monday, June 3, 2024 during the kickoff of ¡OHSÍ!, a pilot program that targets Spanish speakers and introduces them to OC Public Library services. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Tustin Library assistant, Mari Cruz, reads the Spanish version of “If you give a Pig a Pancake,” during the English/Spanish Storytime on Monday, June 3, 2024. It is part of “Oh si!,” a pilot program that targets the Spanish community and provides activities and a hot lunch to anyone under 18. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Bora Yoon takes a picture of her daughter Sophia, 2, during the kickoff of ¡OHSÍ!, a program that provides bilingual activities and a lunch for anyone under 18 at the Tustin Library. They were at the English/Spanish Storytime on Monday, June 3, 2024. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Miguel Pacheco, 2, of Downey, with his grandmother Sandra Pacheco of Tustin, enjoy the kickoff and Oh si!,” a pilot program that targets the Spanish community and provides activities and a hot lunch for anyone under 18. They were at the Tustin Library on Monday, June 3, 2024. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Zoe Vargas, 1, ponders her food selection at the Tustin Library on Monday, June 3, 2024. It is the first day of the free summer Lunch at the Library program, and the introduction of the bilingual marketing campaign, ¡OHSÍ!, which hopes to connect Spanish speakers to the library system. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Rebecca Amezcua holds her daughter, Elizabeth Noelle, during the ¡OHSÍ!, kickoff summer program at Tustin Library on Monday, June 3, 2024. The 6-month-old already has an appetite for books. “She likes to eat them,” Amezcua says.(Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Cousins Martinipe Carranza, 16, left, and Alexa Sanchez, 14, read books together at the Tustin Library where it kicked off its free summer Lunch at the Library program, and introduced the bilingual marketing campaign, ¡OHSÍ!, on Monday, June 3, 2024. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Ruby Cardenas with her children Matthias, 4, and Lucia, 2, look at books at Tustin Library on Monday, June 3, 2024. They were at the ¡OHSÍ!, kickoff summer program. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Along with celebrating the launch of this summer’s Lunch at the Library – a program hosted at six county library branches that last year served 16,000 hot meals to school-age children – the OC Public Libraries system rolled out a new bilingual marketing campaign on Monday with “the goal of spreading the word about library services in communities that may not use the library,” County Librarian Julie Quillman said.
“We want to get families into the library,” she said, “and to spend a couple of hours here and get library cards.”
When mobile library trucks returned from Spanish communities, librarians would often report back how many people they encountered who didn’t know about the county libraries and all the free programs they offer – such as kindergarten readiness, tutoring and homework help for kids, and diverse author series for adults – so last summer Quillman and her administrative team brainstormed how to reach more of the community.
They came up with ¡OHSÍ! to promote the county libraries in Hispanic communities.
They received a $250,000 Samueli Foundation grant that will help with that campaign as well as a series of teen programs addressing such topics as financial literacy and preparing for job interviews and to train library staff on how to talk to the public about “the importance of intellectual freedom and freedom to read,” Quillman said. “We do not ban books at OC Public Libraries.”
Mia Guillen, 8, was with her grandma, Nora, and 1-year-old cousin, Reni, at Monday’s library party. Mia is already well aware of the benefits of the library and has her card for checking out books.
She said she has been reading chapter books since kindergarten and has been encouraged by her parents.
Now, going into third grade, she enjoys the Dragon Masters series, she said, because “every chapter ends with a cliffhanger.”
