Mascoutah Public Library Expands Offerings with New Spanish-Language Book Collection
The Spanish-Language Collection at the Mascoutah Public Library
By Zachary Daum
The Mascoutah Public Library is introducing a new collection of Spanish-language books, marking an effort to better serve the diverse needs of the local community. The initiative began after Librarian Joel Pikora discovered a specialized vendor at the Illinois Library Association (ILA) Conference that supplies world-language books directly from their country of origin.
“Spanish was the one that made the most sense for us,” Pikora explained. “Since we are close to Scott Air Force Base, which brings in Spanish speakers, and with Spanish-speaking communities in the extended area, we thought we’d give it a shot. We’re also pairing it with our Mango Languages learning database so that people have resources at all levels—from bilingual picture books to full Spanish adult-level material. If someone is learning Spanish, they can read material in the language as they progress through fluency.”
The collection, which is a new experiment for the library, will be housed on a dedicated shelf, with all Spanish-language materials marked with an “Español” sticker for easy identification. Pikora mentioned some notable titles in the initial collection, including “Fourth Wing” and its sequels from Rebecca Yarros’ The Empyrean series. “This is a hugely popular series right now,” Pikora noted. “We have books one and two, and book three will be arriving soon in Spanish.”
Librarian Ivy Cowen shared that there has been a demand for Spanish books in the past, but until now, the library’s collection had been limited to children’s books. “We’ve had people request where Spanish books are, but we’ve only ever had children’s books (before now),” Cowen said.
With the inclusion of Spanish-language books, the library hopes to gauge community interest. “We just really wanted to put this new service out there and see if the community finds it useful,” Pikora said. “It can be beneficial for native Spanish speakers looking to read in their language or for those using it as a language-learning tool. There aren’t plans to expand the collection just yet, but if we see it being used, we’ll keep adding books.”
The move comes as other institutions in Mascoutah, including local schools, have also taken steps to include Spanish-language books in their book vending machines, further supporting bilingual literacy in the area.
The library invites the community to explore the new collection and share feedback on the selection. As usage grows, there may be further expansions to the offering.
