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Date: Wed, 13 Nov 2002 18:45:51 -0800 (PST) From: "Wanda Reinford" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: publib <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: U.S. Public Library websites with information in Spanish (Posted to several lists--sorry for any duplication.) > I wanted to let you all know about a webpage I've compiled of U.S. > Public Library websites with information in Spanish. It's available through REFORMA's resources page, at http://www.reforma.org/spanishwebsites.htm. This page expands on the nice compilation done previously by Hal Bright at New Haven Free PL (http://www.nhfpl.lib.ct.us/spanish/bibredesp.htm). Libraries are listed alphabetically by state, and the Spanish-language sites I found are divided into 3 categories: General Information, Spanish-language Weblinks, and Other Resources. The Weblinks category also includes some English-language Hispanic/Latino-related sites, since many libraries intermingle the two. The Other Resources category includes things such as Spanish-language web catalogs, card applications, etc., from libraries which don't have pages in the first two categories, or who don't link to these other resources from their Spanish-language General Information page. My hope is that this compilation could be a useful resource for other libraries wanting to create their own Spanish-language pages or to revise/update/expand/improve their pages. > Sites include range from a short paragraph in Spanish to comprehensive > sites such as Multnomah County and Phoenix Public. I generally did not > include sites which merely provided a link to an automated translator such as Altavista's Babelfish, since all library websites could be translated using that method, and since the quality of such translations is fairly low. For those of you who speak Spanish, here are 3 examples of automated translations I ran across which I think are rather humorous: a Spanish version said "Entre una ciudad o nosotros cerramos"--the original read "Enter a city or US Zip" (for a weather forecast). Another said "libros el hablar para persiana" (talking books for the blind!). A third site's kids' page said "para cabritos"! I welcome any feedback on the format of the page. I found libraries in 40 of the 50 states with Spanish-language online information. If your public library website includes Spanish-language information, but is not listed in my compilation, please let me know, and I'll add it to the page--any omissions are certainly not intentional. It may mean that your library's URL is not accurate in the Libweb and Libdex library directories, or that the Spanish-language info is hidden deep within your page. While I am not an expert on providing Spanish-language information online, here are a few observations I made after browsing so many library webpages. > * If you're providing Spanish-language information on your library website, don't expect your Spanish-speaking patron to dig deeply into your site to find it; a link directly from your homepage is ideal. > * If you provide a variety of Spanish-language resources on your website (catalog, library card application, recommended weblinks, etc.) please provide one page where all these resources are linked together. To me, sites that offered a variety of such resources scattered throughout their site, but did not provide "one-stop" access to those resources, were very frustrating. > * Try not to use the terms "Spanish" and "Hispanic/Latino" interchangeably in categorizing your recommended weblinks. And if you are providing Spanish-language weblinks for your Spanish-speaking patrons, with annotations, provide either bilingual or Spanish annotations if at all possible. (The same would be true for other kinds of Spanish-language resources you provide; I ran across various Spanish-language flyers, booklists, etc., which had headings, titles, and/or descriptions only in English.) > I hope this will be a helpful resource for you and your libraries. > > Wanda Reinford > Reference Librarian > San Antonio Public Library--Central Library > 600 Soledad, San Antonio TX 78205> > (210) 207-2500 > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://www.sanantonio.gov/library > Texas Latino Literature Bibliography http://www.sanantonio.gov/library/latino/texbibliography.asp > Enlaces en Espa�ol http://www.sanantonio.gov/library/web/enlaces.asp Laurie Mahaffey Central Texas Library System P. O. Box 2287 Austin TX 78768-2287 512-476-1668 ext 16 [EMAIL PROTECTED] --------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, send to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Include in body: unsubscribe ctls-l For information on CTLS-L please visit: http://www.ctls.net/document/ctls-l.htm
