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Neighborhood Report

Spanish speakers' library is on a roll

The Cybermobile connects books and computer skillswithresidents all over the county.

By MEGAN VOELLER
Published June 23, 2006

On a weekday morning, a gleaming white van pulled into the parking lot at Beth-el Mission on U.S. 301.

Julio Rangel was first on board.

He snagged a spot at one of six computer stations inside and waited for class to begin.

Eventually, he hopes to apply the computer skills he learns in class to his construction business.

First, he will start with the basics.

"A lot of these students have never used a mouse before," said instructor Olga Perez, who teaches Spanish-language computer classes several times a week aboard the van.

The state-of-the-art vehicle serves as a roving Spanish-language branch of the Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library System.

Called the Cybermobile, the vehicle crisscrosses the county, stopping in north and west Tampa, as well as Dover, Ruskin and Balm.

It serves a variety of people, from children at the Alexander Park stop in Town 'N Country to senior citizens at Haciendas Villas in Ybor City and the Barksdale Senior Center in West Tampa.

Outfitted with new computers and wireless Internet access, the 37-foot van has a miniature satellite dish perched atop its roof. Its mission: to educate the area's Hispanic population about the benefits the library system can offer them.

At Beth-el, five young women shuffled into the van from the sun-drenched parking lot. Then Perez began class.

She drilled the students with exercises of opening and closing programs and navigating the "Start" menu. By the end of the class, each student created a Word document and saved it on the computer desktop.

In addition to taking a computer class or surfing the Internet, Cybermobile visitors can check out books and other materials.

Inside, the van is divided into two areas. Six desks equipped with laptop computers face the front. In back, a collection of Spanish-language books, CDs, DVDs, magazines and newspapers line bookcases.

Visitors need a library card to check out materials, but registering for one on board only takes a few minutes, librarian Elaine Lezcano said.

Materials that teach English or guide readers through the immigration process see the most use, she said. Manuals on health and parenting, standardized test guides and novels round out the collection for adults.

Children's books include Spanish, English and bilingual options. Computer classes for children take an unstructured approach, Perez said.

"They learn skills dressed up as fun activities," she said.

At Ybor's Haciendas Villas, the challenge is reaching out to seniors who are reluctant or unable to leave their comfort zone.

During an afternoon visit to the housing complex, the van sat empty for half an hour after an early rush of four visitors. Lezcano and Perez each took a turn delivering materials or walking a senior back to the complex.

"They tend to congregate around the entrance of the building," Lezcano said.

The distance to the van, parked about 50 feet away from the entrance because of its size, presents an obstacle for some, she said.

"We're learning every day," Lezcano said.

TO LEARN MORE

For more information about the Cybermobile, including a schedule of stops, visit the libraryWebsite at www.hcplc.org/hcplc/services/cybor call (813) 273-3711.

[Last modified June 22, 2006, 12:26:23]