September 2025
Quick facts
- Spanish Beginning Readers Collections have been reorganized in reading levels.
- Search readers by level in My MCL.
- Bienvenidos a la Lectura (Welcome to Reading) color-coded bags are in these four categories:
- Yellow for Comenzando (Beginning)
- Blue for Desarrollando habilidades (Developing Skills)
- Red for Leyendo más (Reading More)
- Green for Por mi cuenta (On My Own)
- There are also purple bags with a CTIAM / STEAM focus (Ciencia, Tecnología, Ingeniería, Arte y Matemáticas / Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Mathematics). The books in these bags are in different reading levels and include various topics, scientific concepts, advanced vocabulary, and somewhat complex text.
Application
The kits are housed at the 10 library locations with Spanish-speaking staff: Fairview-Columbia, Gregory Heights, Gresham, Holgate, Kenton, Midland, North Portland, Rockwood, St Johns, and Troutdale.
They are not a floating item in the collection at this time.
Bienvenidos a la Lectura kits that are returned with pieces missing are sent to OPS/Integrated Services/Sort Center/Disco Team.
Patrons can return any missing books at any time without a fee.
View the Kits for Youth Info Sheet.
Questions? Contact Berenice at berenic@multco.us.
Policy
Multnomah County Library has Bienvenidos a la Lectura kits to empower K-4 grade students to become successful readers and to improve Spanish-speaking families' experiences with the library and with reading.
There are four distinct reading levels and each level is identified by a color:
- Comenzando (Beginning) - yellow
- Desarrollando habilidades (Developing Skills) - blue
- Leyendo más (Reading More) - red
- Por mi cuenta (On My Own) - green
The levels purposefully do not have corresponding numbers, to discourage correlation between reading level and grade level.
Each kit features 5 books on a theme which are easy-to-read, high-interest books selected for building reading skills.
The Bienvenidos a la Lectura program also offers kits in purple bags with a CTIAM / STEAM focus (Ciencia, Tecnología, Ingeniería, Arte y Matemáticas / Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Mathematics). The books in this bag are of different reading levels and include various topics, scientific concepts, advanced vocabulary, and somewhat complex text.
Bienvenidos a la Lectura kits are circulated for 21 days and may be renewed.
The replacement cost is $20.00.
Patrons may place holds on these kits.
Bienvenidos a la Lectura Kits returned with pieces missing are sent to OPS/Integrated Services/Sort Center/Disco Team.
The Spanish Readers Assessment and Leveling project team conducted an assessment and leveling of the Spanish readers collection. They created the Bienvenidos a la Lectura kits to ensure that Multnomah County Library is equitably supporting learning, specifically for students who are learning to read in Spanish.
Through the collection of Spanish readers we are helping families recognize the value of investing and promoting literacy at home. The collection is meant to guide families in reinforcing literacy skills learned in school at home. We recognize that schools, educators, and adult caregivers are finding great importance in dual learning and bilingualism. We want to support a child’s learning by having materials that reinforce our community’s educational core curriculum and individual interests.