Ogden curbside library, first of its type here, offers Spanish-only books
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- Adriel Moreno, a 6-year-old from Roy, selects a book from the new Little Neighborhood Library at the northwest corner of 26th Street and Monroe Boulevard in Ogden on Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023. The book box features only Spanish-language books.
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- The new Little Neighborhood Library at the northwest corner of 26th Street and Monroe Boulevard in Ogden, photographed Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023. It features only Spanish-language books.
OGDEN — Spanish speakers in central Ogden now have a curbside library where they can get free Spanish-language children’s books, part of an initiative meant to encourage reading in the Hispanic community.
United Way of Northern Utah, the Ogden School District and the Ogden Civic Action Network are the moving forces behind the new book box at the northwest corner of 26th Street and Monroe Avenue. Though the first Spanish-only library United Way of Northern Utah has helped install, it’s the 19th “Little Neighborhood Library” for the organization, most of them in the Ogden area.
The aim of the book boxes is to make books more readily available to encourage reading, thus helping bolster literacy. Central Ogden has a large Latino population, which figured in placement of the Spanish-only library in the area.
Some of the Latino parents in the neighborhood may be more comfortable speaking Spanish, thus the book box gives them materials they can read to their young kids. Other United Way of Northern Utah book boxes contain Spanish-language titles in addition to English-language books.
“That’s the most important thing, just reading to your kids,” said Amandi Heperi, a United Way spokesperson. In her view, it doesn’t matter if a book is in English or Spanish — reading in either language helps bolster literacy.
Reading, said Andrea Diaz, community literacy specialist for United Way, “builds those pathways.”
A United Way of Northern Utah press release said literacy skills develop in any language, “and these fundamental skills developed in the primary language are key to learning a second language, like English.”
Reps from the three organizations involved in the initiative, members of the Latino community and others joined on Oct. 4 for a ceremony to formally unveil the new book box, which they will keep stocked. The books are free to neighborhood residents.
