When Frances Spann would come into the library for technology help, she was determined to finish writing, editing and publishing her life story.
With the help of Lynnea Amend, staff technology trainer, and Andrew Nilsen, bilingual Spanish tech help coordinator, Frances Spann learned new technology skills and made two new friends.
As a library patron, Frances shines a light onto the beauty of how library services can make an impact in someone’s life.
Frances’s first visit to a Multnomah County Library was in 1992, at the age of 46, when The Oregonian did an interview with her about her life.
“Before then, there was no need for me to go to the library, because I couldn't read or write,” says Frances.
Born in 1946 in Belzoni, Mississippi, Frances was a sharecropper's daughter. As a child she worked picking cotton with her family and was not allowed to go to school.
“I was deprived of getting an education because we lived on a plantation and Black people weren't allowed to send their kids to school back in the ’40s,” says Frances.
Frances tried to attend school. Her visit was cut short when as an 11 year old, she was put in a pre-kindergarten class. The school children and teachers made fun of her and she did not return. She had street smarts, and that helped her keep going.
It wasn't until after she married, had nine children, and made her way to Oregon, that Frances finally had an opportunity to go to school. She began with Adult Basic Education at Portland Community College.
“I started in the classroom and tested below a third grade education. It took me eight years just to get my GED,” says Frances.
At this time, Frances was taking care of her children and going to school. She would stay up late doing homework and take classes while her children were in school. She credits her graduation and future success to the teachers who helped her along the way and encouraged her to keep going.
“I got my GED and then I went to work as a caregiver, and the people that I was working for, they are the ones that inspired me to write my autobiography,” says Frances.
In 1996, Frances didn’t know how to use a computer, so she began to handwrite her story with a pen and paper.
“I didn't write every day, but I wrote whenever the urge hit me to write,” says Frances. “So as an author, to tell you the truth, it took me about 12 years, maybe 13 years in the making to finish it up.”
It was her daughter who encouraged Frances to get a flash drive for the safekeeping of her story, and to reach out to the library.
Many years later, in 2019, Frances stepped into the Gresham Library seeking help to use a computer so she could finish her autobiography.
“I wanted for my kids and grandkids to know who they’ve been dealing with all these years because they know me as a mother, grandmother, auntie and a friend, but I want to let them know that there were some obstacles for me to get to where I am. And I couldn't share it with them like I could put it in a book when I write it down. To let them know my whole life history,” says Frances.
“They set me up with Andrew, to help me with my computer skills, but I think we had like two sessions, and then Covid hit,” says Frances. “I got disconnected from Andrew and I didn't think I would ever hear from him again.”
Once in-person tech help resumed, Andrew called Frances to ask if she was still interested in connecting in person at the library.
“He said ‘are you still working on the autobiography?’ and I said ‘Yes I am,’ and then he said ‘well I have this nice lady – which is Lynnea, that would be happy to help you,” says Frances.
Andrew set up the tech help appointment for Lynnea and Frances at Gresham Library and Frances shared her story.
“I immediately felt so comfortable and relaxed (with Frances). Like we had just known each other and been friends for a long time. She’s just an easy person to talk to, and such a kind person,” says Lynnea.
In a span of three months, Frances and Lynnea worked together to find an editor for the 100-page autobiography.
“This is mainly more for my grandkids than my kids, because I couldn't tell my kids my life story. For one reason, I didn't want to poison their environment against people of another color, and I wanted them to look at people for who they were. Now, their mothers and their fathers can teach them and explain to them — the way this book is going to explain to my kids, that everyone is not the same, because a lot has happened since my generation,” says Frances.
Being able to put her story down on paper and having it published has been part of Frances’s life mission. Frances is working on delivering the 25 copies of her autobiography to members of her family.