Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month at any of four Timberland Regional Library "Fiestas Bibliotecas para Todos" (Libraries for Everyone). Fiestas at the Aberdeen, Olympia and Shelton Timberland libraries will be from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday, September 18. The Centralia Timberland Library will have its fiesta from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, September 25.

The fiestas are free, intended for all ages, and will include Latino music and performances, crafts, books and information, story time programs and other activities, light refreshments and prizes.

The events mark a year of development of library services and programs to better serve the region’s fast-growing Latino population. The grant-funded project is called Bibliotecas para Todos. According to the 2000 U.S. Census report, an average of 5 percent of individuals in Thurston, Grays Harbor, Mason and Lewis counties (about 19,000 persons) listed themselves as Hispanic or Latino.

In October 2003, the Timberland Regional Library (TRL) system received a one-year grant of $50,000 from the Washington State Library to reach out to and find ways to better serve local Latino people. Four of the 27-branch system's larger libraries, the Shelton, Olympia, Aberdeen and Centralia Timberland libraries, have seen dramatic increases in the number of Spanish-speaking people in their communities. TRL hired bilingual diversity librarian Selina Gomez-Beloz to conduct a needs assessment in each of the four communities, help staff develop culturally appropriate programs and services, select new Spanish language popular materials, and train staff in library-focused Spanish.

The Bibliotecas para Todos grant will end September 30, 2004. In a little under a year:

Aberdeen Timberland Library: Saturday, Sept. 18, 1-5 p.m. for all ages. Traditional Mexican music by Alfredo Gomez-Beloz, folk dancing with Ballet Folklorico, lasso performance by Floreo de Lazo, cultural displays, refreshments, and prizes.

Olympia Timberland Library: Saturday, Sept. 18, 1-5 p.m. for all ages. Music and bilingual stories with Hugo Flores, crafts, bilingual family story time, displays, refreshments, and prizes.

Shelton Timberland Library (William G. Reed Library): Saturday, Sept. 18, 1-5 p.m. for all ages. Children’s Hispanic dance exhibitions, storytelling, a salsa tasting featuring fresh salsa from local establishments, Latino cultural crafts, refreshments, and prizes.

Centralia Timberland Library: Saturday, Sept. 25, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., for all ages in the library meeting room and in George Washington Park, adjacent to the library. Radio broadcast live from George Washington Park with KCED’s Angel "El Rayo" Hansen, music by guitarist Pedro Beltran-Soberanes and El Grupo Ilusión Norteña, bilingual story time, crafts, refreshments, and prizes.

The fiestas are being supported by Timberland Regional Library’s "Bibliotecas Para Todos" grant and community businesses and organizations. Library phone numbers for more information: Aberdeen, (360) 533-2360; Olympia, (360) 352-0595 Shelton, (360) 426-1362; Centralia, (360) 736-0183.