Goshen Public Library grows community connections with bilingual storytime

Day in and day out, Indiana Humanities’ grantees and partners are bringing the humanities to life for Hoosiers across the state. From small towns like Jasper to big cities like Fort Wayne, our grantees are creating thoughtful programs, bridging divides and inspiring Hoosiers to think, read and talk. As part of our ongoing efforts to uplift the work of our partners, we’re highlighting past and present grantees and sharing their stories of impact.  

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Goshen, Indiana — the seat of Elkhart County — is a growing community, and in the last 20 years, it’s seen a significant increase in Hispanic and Latino residents.

Amid this trend, however, staff at the Goshen Public Library realized that many in the Spanish-speaking community, including children, weren’t participating in library programming.

To address this gap and help ensure that all residents feel comfortable using the library, the library staff in 2023 offered a summer reading program called “Bilingual Storytime.” During the storytime, librarians read books in both English and Spanish to children ranging from toddlers up to second graders, working with them to increase vocabulary in both languages. The readers encouraged the children to make sounds, predict the plot of the books, and answer questions about the characters, all to develop skills in comprehension and contextualization. The library also offered library card registration and made available additional services during the programs.

Developing programming that draws new audiences requires investment, and to support this work, the library applied for and received an Indiana Humanities Action Grant. It earmarked the funds to provide free copies of the storytime books to participating families.

The bilingual storytime programming was a big success. The library held two storytimes that summer, with more than 150 participants total at the two events. One family traveled 30 minutes from White Pigeon, Michigan, to attend because, they explained, there aren’t any bilingual opportunities closer to home for their children. By taking part in the storytimes, they’ve built a connection with the library and are now aware of similar activities the library offers.

Indiana Humanities is committed to ensuring that all Hoosiers have access to the humanities, and we’re eager to partner with organizations such as the Goshen Public Library to make this happen. The library’s efforts to offer educational programming for children of all backgrounds is an outstanding example of how Indiana Humanities’ grants can help us achieve this goal.

For information about how Indiana Humanities and our grants program can help your organization build stronger community connections, visit our website. Check out the Goshen Public Library’s website to learn more about its programs and services.