Los Angeles Libros Festival
Los Angeles Public Library, Calif.
Equity and Inclusion
| 2020
Innovation Synopsis
Los Angeles Libros Festival is one of the largest free bilingual book festivals for the whole family. It offers author panels, illustrators, crafts and storytellers from all over the world, including Cuba, Colombia, Spain and Mexico. The festival celebrates Spanish and bilingualism as an important part of Los Angeles while celebrating the Latino culture.
Challenge/Opportunity
- LA County has nearly 40% Spanish speaking residents.
- There is a lack of large-scale literary events for Spanish-speaking and bilingual audiences.
- Rising numbers of Spanish bilingual students in L.A. schools.
- Interest in Spanish bilingualism among non-native speakers.
- Increase in dual immersion programs in L.A.
- Promotion of LAPL Spanish language collections.
- Promotion of LAPL resources to the Spanish speaking community, such as the New Americans Initiative, online homework assistance, adult literacy, etc.
Key Elements of Innovation
- It’s a large family event featuring Spanish language and bilingual storytelling, music, workshops, 48 authors and illustrators, books and more.
- The inaugural event in 2019 was in-person at Central Library. This year’s event was virtual.
- The festival offers a platform to diverse voices and experiences from the Latinx community.
- This year’s virtual event will be closed captioned for accessibility.
- LAPL created the festival with LA Librería and REFORMA. Other key partners are the L.A. Times and LACMA museum.
Achieved Outcomes
- The attendance goal for the inaugural event was 500; actual attendance was over 5,000. The attendance goal for the virtual event was 1,000; actual online views were more than 12,000 on the day of the event.
- Spanish and English language media covered the event.
- Increased use of library services and resources.
- Inaugural event feedback from attendees was very positive and included requests for additional festivals.
- LACMA signed up over 500+ families for free community memberships at the inaugural event.
- A toolkit was developed for other libraries to replicate the event.
