Libraries that closed in response to the coronavirus pandemic are offering curbside pickup and online options for community members, however, some Spanish-speaking residents are struggling to access library materials

(...)Myrna Gonzalez (president of the Bilingual Education Council) said even before the pandemic, Spanish-language resources and books were limited at the Lincoln Branch Library on Joseph Avenue in the city of Rochester. Now options are even more restricted, she said. 

“Health books, diet books, and magazines because they think we don’t like to read,” said Gonzalez. “Hispanic people don’t like to read. They just read the magazines and watch soap operas. That's the mentality.”

Gonzalez said that when she compares the English-language selection to the Spanish, she feels like a second-class citizen.

The Lincoln Library on Joseph Avenue has the largest Spanish-language collection in the Monroe County Library System.

“We develop that collection just like we would any other collection based on what we see going out based on what our patrons want or what they tell us they want,” said Sarah Lehman, site supervisor at the Lincoln Library.

Thirty percent of the library’s budget goes to Spanish-language books, Lehman said. Out of more than 2.2 million books in the county's library system, there are about 9,000 books in Spanish, including ebooks and audiobooks. 

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