By BEVERLY BEAL

Beverly@newsroom.byu.edu

Provo's local library has done something different with story time.

Every Monday at 7 p.m. at the Provo library, 425 W. Center St., in the children's section, storyteller Grace Nicklaus reads books in Spanish to a small crowd of children and adults.

"The parents enjoy this as much as the kids. They don't just drop their kids off. They usually stick around and listen," Nicklaus said.

Twenty-five to 40 people are usually in attendance, she said.

Nicklaus wants more to come and is telling people about the program whenever she gets a chance, she said.

Along with story-time, the group sings Spanish songs together. The children become actively involved when they all introduce themselves to the entire group during the song, "Saludo."

The children's stories include action, adventure, fairy tales and even books emphasizing the Spanish culture, Nicklaus said.

"I love to bring my kids because they will learn some Spanish stories that we as parents do not know. And I think that overall reading is good for them," said Luisa Soto, mother of Vanessa, a 3-year-old who attends.

The Spanish program started in September 1999, when Provo decided to use $7000 from their budget for books and literature for the Spanish community, said Carla Morris, the Children's services manager at Provo Library.

"This is a year-round program, so everyone can count on it every Monday evening," she said.

Morris said the library hopes to involve the Spanish community more and produce in them a desire to read.

"They need to be reading. We need to get the Spanish community hooked on reading, first in their own language, and then introduce them to English," she said.

The library does not just have children's books in Spanish. In the adult section, there are several magazines in Spanish, including the Ensign, Reader's Digest, and Geo Mundo, Morris said.

The library only has a small area dedicated to Spanish literature and needs more funding, she said.

"Right now, I am looking for grants to fund materials and staffing that can help the Hispanic community with books, Internet usage and other questions," she said.

Morris said that when the new library is built, there will be room to expand even more.



Copyright Brigham Young University 14 Mar 2000