Transparent Language

Spanish for Library Professionals Course

Better serve Spanish-speaking patrons at your library with this free 11-unit Spanish course for librarians, staff, volunteers, and anyone working in a library!

You'll be ready to speak confidently in Spanish about library services like:

Issuing library cards

Using computers & printers

Checking out materials

Registering for library programs

*If your library subscribes to Transparent Language Online, create an account via your library's website. Trial accounts created here expire in 14 days (plus a 60-day extension).
The Spanish for Library Professionals course is shown on a phone and a computer. The phone shows a vocabulary activity teaching a Spanish phrase. The computer shows an image with library vocabulary pinned on it.

 

 

Spanish for Library Professionals Course Syllabus

The course is completely flexible! You can as much or as little as you need based on your current Spanish abilities and your library responsibilities. Feel free to learn it all, or to skip units or lessons that you do not need.

Unit 1 of 11
Issuing library cards
Conversation
Practice issuing a library card to a patron.
Vocabulary
Filling in forms Meeting and greeting
Grammar
Nouns and gender Definite articles
Unit 2 of 11
Discussing library resources
Conversation
Practice telling a patron about available resources, from books and audiobooks to computers and the Library of Things.
Vocabulary
Library materials & resources Translation facilitation
Grammar
Plurals Indefinite articles Personal pronouns
Unit 3 of 11
Finding library materials
Conversation
Practice helping a patron track down a specific book and locate it inside the library.
Vocabulary
Locations within a library Book genres Making polite conversation
Grammar
Conjugating "estar" (to be) Prepositions of location
Unit 4 of 11
Checking out and returning materials
Conversation
Practice helping a patron check out materials and explain how to return them.
Vocabulary
Check out and returns Online holds and renewals Numbers
Grammar
Conjugating "ser" (to be) Expressing existence with "hay"
Unit 5 of 11
Using library computers and printers
Conversation
Practice helping a patron use a library computer and print a document.
Vocabulary
Computer terms Printer terms Office supplies
Grammar
Modal verbs: can, should, want Demonstrative adjectives
Unit 6 of 11
Accessing e-resources
Conversation
Practice talking about available e-resources for audiobooks, research, language courses, and more.
Vocabulary
Types of e-resources Creating accounts Common verbs
Grammar
Question words Present tense -ar verbs
Unit 7 of 11
Discussing adult programs
Conversation
Practice introducing adult programs like English classes and use dates and times to explain when they meet.
Vocabulary
Types of adult programs/events Registering for events Times of day
Grammar
Ser vs. estar Asking questions
Unit 8 of 11
Discussing book clubs
Conversation
Practice promoting a book club to a patron checking out a book.
Vocabulary
Registering for events Days of the week
Grammar
Singular subject pronouns Plural subject pronouns
Unit 9 of 11
Summer reading program
Conversation
Practice explaining the library's Summer Reading Program to a patron checking out a book for her daughter.
Vocabulary
Summer Reading Program terms Months Possessive adjectives
Grammar
Conjugating stem-changing verbs Present tense -er and -ir verbs
Unit 10 of 11
Storytime
Conversation
Practice helping a patron sign up his children for storytime.
Vocabulary
Storytime terms Registering for storytime Common adjectives
Grammar
Expressing states with "tener" and idiomatic expressions Adjectives that follow nouns
Unit 11 of 11
Explaining library policies
Conversation
Practice answering a patron's questions about the library's rules and policies including library hours.
Vocabulary
Library hours Library rules Asking the time
Grammar
Possession and obligation Impersonal "se"

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