The scene is familiar – small children sitting on a colorful rug, listening to stories and singing songs. It’s story time, one of the best-known library programs around. But in this story time, the colors on that rug aren’t red, yellow, and blue – they’re roja, amarillo, and azul. It’s Spanish Story Time, and it happens once a month at the Brewerton branch of the Northern Onondaga Public Library. The next one will be held on Saturday, October 24, from 11 am to 12 noon. Spanish Story Time is attended by families who speak Spanish at home and those for whom it’s a new language to learn. During Hispanic Heritage Month, we’re putting a spotlight on this program and the picture book collection that supports it.
Diandra Morse, a bilingual therapist with experience in social-emotional learning, positive youth development programming, and Spanish language and cultural identity preservation, has been leading Spanish Story Time since July 2024. She explained, “Before I was hired, a library staff member facilitated bilingual story time for a few months. This person’s partner spoke Spanish and handled the Spanish component of the story time while she managed the English components in the books. Several library patrons sent me the flyer, which is how I learned about that bilingual story time.
“Although my oldest child was born in 2019, I hadn’t visited any libraries in our area before attending NOPL Brewerton’s Bilingual Story Time in 2024. I had been informed that NOPL had a very limited Spanish collection, which didn’t feel representative of my family dynamic. As a bilingual parent, I wanted to ensure my children did not feel that their language only existed at home or that only monolingualism or English speakers deserved representation in books, so I avoided places that didn’t represent us. I started attending the bilingual story time and really enjoyed finally normalizing for my children that Spanish existed outside the walls of our home.”
When the staff member who had been leading the story time left their role at the library, they recommended Morse for the job. The library’s Spanish language collection was developed by Morse in partnership with Children’s Librarian Megan McDaniels and currently consists of just over 100 titles. Primarily picture books for preschool and early elementary audiences, the collection not only serves the Spanish-speaking/ bilingual patrons coming to story time, but also students learning the language in school.
Branch Manager Angela Newman said, “I love hearing Spanish spoken at the library. For one thing, it’s a beautiful language. But it’s also an audible reminder in a predominantly English-speaking community that there’s a whole world beyond what you might experience from day to day. I can’t think of any idea that better aligns with the mission of the public library.”
Hispanic Heritage Month is September 15 through October 15. Ask your librarian how to find Spanish language materials or visit the Onondaga County Public Library catalog at onlib.org.
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