MONROE - Union County residents don’t need to venture any farther than their local libraries if they want to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, which begins Sept. 15.

The main branch of the Union County Public Library is sponsoring a Latin concert on Oct. 3 and hosting a Latino roots art exhibition during September.

Oscar Ortiz, the library’s Hispanic Services assistant, said the library also honors Hispanic culture throughout the year with its Spanish language section. UCPL has more than 3,000 adult and 1,500 children’s Spanish books.

Ortiz, who has about $6,000 per year to spend on Spanish literature, said he often relies on patron suggestions and trends journals to choose the latest additions to the library’s Spanish section.

“They cherish their own language and want to read stuff in their own language,” he said, adding that there are more original Spanish books than translated English books.

Between Aug. 1, 2008, and Aug. 1, 2009, there were Spanish materials were checked out 10,835 times checked out, as well as 417 renewals.

Ortiz said that the books often help Hispanics in the community integrate into American culture by first luring them to the library with books in their own language. Once there, he said, they begin to notice English books as well.

“It’s not that they want to disconnect from the surrounding culture,” he said. “This just opens up a bridge. You can’t just come in cold turkey.”

The Spanish section is also popular among English speakers wishing to improve their Spanish, Ortiz said.

Monroe resident Paz Avila said her family uses the books for both enjoyment and education. Originally from Mexico, Avila enjoys reading in her native language but will pick up an English book occasionally to work on her English.

Although her son, Andres Viveros, speaks Spanish well, he has trouble reading and writing it.

“We read Spanish books so it will be easier for him to read and write it later,” Avila said in Spanish.

Ortiz said the response to the growing section has been overwhelmingly positive over the years.

“We can’t hide the fact that we have a growing Hispanic population,” he said. “The library is here to serve the whole community, and the whole community does not speak English.”

For information on Hispanic Heritage Month events, call 704-283-8184, ext. 243.