Welcome to the wide world of Core Collection en Español! With this new database built on the familiar Core Collections platform, you’ll be able to easily find recommended titles for your Spanish-speaking patrons, from adults looking for popular fiction to kids needing a book for a homework assignment to teens looking for the latest Wattpad author to make it to print. Want to host a bilingual storytime or provide support for patrons learning English? That’s covered too. And with books written by authors across Latin America and Spain, there’s something for every reader. We’ve also included popular and well-regarded titles translated into Spanish.
The publishing industry is still catching on to the fact that there’s a need for more books in Spanish in the US. Most books continue to be sourced directly from publishers abroad, which can make it challenging for collection development. With Core Collection en Español, we’ve just made the search a little bit easier.
Unique datapoints
In addition to the Core Collections metadata you’re used to, like recommendation levels and series information, we’ve included a few new types of data. You’re familiar with translations, but titles that originally appeared in Spanish are noted (search SU Original Spanish-language materials). Want to know if the Spanish used reflects a European origin, or a Latin American one? Look for linked tags like Latin American Spanish language materials or European Spanish language materials. And of course, there are Bilingual materials for books (mostly picture books, it’s true) that appear in more than one language.
We also know that there can be a dearth of review materials in English for books published only in Spanish. So we’ve added a brief rationale from the collection development advisor who selected the title explaining why the books are recommended (or essential or supplementary) purchases. These, along with your own knowledge of your community’s needs, should help guide your decision-making.
Bilingual content
Don’t have staff who speaks Spanish but want to market your collection to your community? Where available, we’ve included summaries in English and in Spanish, both to help non-Spanish-speaking staff get a handle on the books and for libraries to use to market their collections to Spanish-speaking patrons. If the book exists in English, we’ll include the English language title, as well as any reviews that are available.
Our team
Each of our selectors has experience as collection development librarians in public libraries for patrons of all ages and libraries of all sizes. Their recommendations are publisher and vendor-neutral, and they utilize a number of sources for their research, including reviews, awards, community interests, and book fairs.
Shauna Griffin is a Senior Collection Development Librarian at NoveList. She is currently reading Tell the Machine Goodnight by Katie Williams.
