Tell us a little bit about the community where you work. (Size of city, rural, demographics, types of industry, etc. etc. or whatever is distinctive about where you work. This doesn’t need to involve research, just a little background so people know what type of community you’re in). The Last 3 years I have been focusing in Redmond which has a high amount of Latinos. We don't have exact numbers but we believe that the population in Deschutes county is 15,182 Hispanics and that by 2020 we will grow by about 2,500. Another way we keep track of this is by how many children are attending school. 2013-2014 we had 4,741 Latino Children in Central Oregon that includes Deschutes, Jefferson and Crook County. Latino families do come to the library now, they started coming more about a year after I started working at the Redmond when they started finding out that there was someone there that they would be able to communicate.
I really enjoy having family events, all though they are a lot of work. Its great to see over a hundred people come and have every child go home with a book. I am also excited about my Early Literacy trainings they are successful up to now and parents are interested in Learning more omailto:[email protected]n how they can help their children.
Tell us about the favorite part of your position and why. I love the fact that I get to work with a variety of people, I get to serve adults and children. I enjoy the connections and friendships I make with the community. It's nice to see that they can trust me, I build relationships with them. I love outreach and reaching families outside the library and then seeing them at the Library is very satisfying.
I always make flyers. Although we have an event guide and we have an online calendar for our events including mine I always make flyers. I take them around the community and I personally invite families when I see them come into the Library or when I see them outside. I want them to know that they are welcome and that it is something that they will enjoy with their kids and families. They like paper material, many do not know how to register for things or look up for programs online and many don't come because they don't know how to search for this information. Another tip is, show interest in them. The library can be a scary place for them, they are going into a building where they are a minority. They come to look for us, and talk to us, because they need us. So I give them the attention and services they deserve because if they have a good/memorable experience they will come back and they will not be as scared to walk through our doors.
Is there anything else that you would like to tell us about? I am very happy doing what I do. I enjoy Latino services and helping the community, but the community has also helped me. I have grown a lot since I started working here and I have really embraced being a Latina and learning more about my culture.
"Featured Librarian" entries feature librarians or library professionals who are REFORMA members. If you'd like to be featured or know someone special, please email Lauren Simon at [email protected] and Lucy Iraola at [email protected].