My Position : Adult Services Associate/Cataloger
Responsibilities: Working with public, cataloging books, adult services such as crafts and up coming classes.
Tell us a little bit about the community where you work...
Milton-Freewater is a beautiful small town surrounded by wheat fields and fruit orchards. The population is about 9,000 with more then half of the population is made up of Latino families. Many of the residents here work in the fields or in a packing plants. There are many great restaurants here that offer great food and jobs as well. One of the biggest attractions that we have are the wineries. They are beautiful and provide many jobs for residents and other people from all over. I live in a small town called Weston about 9 miles from Milton-Freewater. The population there is about 800 people. We might be small but it's beautiful right at the foot of the blue mountains.
Can you tell us about some programs or services that you’re excited about at your library?
I'm excited that more bilingual services are being done at the library. I see more and more Latino families coming in and feeling that support that they needed. More programs during the winter time for our Spanish speaker are in the works and I am super excited. I have started to spread the word out and they as well are excited to see more programs in Spanish.
Tell us about the favorite part of your position and why.
My favorite part of my position is working with the public. Getting to meet new people and speaking to regular patrons is great.
Are there challenges that you face in your work?
I think the challenge I face is to bring in more Latino families. I want to speak to my community and take out the fear of the unknown. Let them see how many opportunities there are in places like our library. How reading and other programs that we have available are for them to succeed not by them selves but as a family.
Can you share some advice or tips you have for working with and/or providing services and materials for the Spanish-speaking / Latino community?
My advice for people with working with Spanish speaking communities is not to give up if the first time doesn't turn out the way you planned. I know that the Latino community has trust issues and especially now with these times. But if we can continue to build the trust and relationships with them it will be amazing. Once the trust builds up the Latino community is unstoppable.
Rhina is an OLA 2018 Scholarship Recipient; check out her OLA 2018 report