"Today, libraries are competing with Amazon and other entities. Our patrons want the newest materials and quickly. We have to adapt."

A few years ago, the library’s Collections and Technical Services Team re-designed their workflow to help meet the demand. Materials used to sit in the receiving building for 4-6 weeks after they were purchased. Each part of the process — unboxing, sorting, cataloging — taking too much time. Thanks to a new workflow, patrons now get materials in three days or less.

"We’re constantly changing our work and changing the way we think about our work. It’s an exciting time to be at the library. We are re-examining what it means to build a collection in the age of modern libraries."

Josh has a passion for literacy and working with people. While attending a technical high school in Portland, he lost interest in his automotive major but found his way into the school library, where he became a teaching assistant. Directly after high school, he joined Multnomah County Library as a page (now called Access Services Assistant), checking in books and shelving holds.

He wanted to get to know more about each neighborhood, so he began subbing at different library branches, meeting the community and staff at each location. With a curiosity to know more about the technical work of the library, he transitioned from working at a branch to his behind-the-scenes position on the Technical Services team.

Day-to-day, Josh diligently focuses on being a good steward of the library’s resources and helping manage the collections budget. He orders materials from book and media vendors, ensuring the library is getting the items needed, at a good price, and when possible, having them pre-processed so they can get into the hands of library patrons as quick as possible. He is constantly evaluating any changes in how collections budgets are spent and determining whether there are collections that needs attention. He also provides internal customer service, buying materials for the library’s youth and adult outreach programs, such as Books 2U, Summer Reading, and the Every Child Initiative.

"I enjoy feeling connected to the library, even though I don’t interact with the public as much as I did working in a branch. I’m proud that our library works hard to deliver the materials that patrons ask for. We respond directly to people and let them know if their suggested items were purchased, and if they were, how to place a hold on the item. Every time our library makes a change to improve our system for the better of our patrons, it’s gratifying. I know we’re making a difference."

Are you heading to the NW Pride Festival this weekend? If so, stop by the Library table on Sunday June 17th at the Multnomah County Booth. We'll be signing people up for library cards, checking out some of our favorite LGBT+ books and giving out prizes! Can't make it to the festival? Celebrate Pride from anywhere by reading a great LGBT+ book! Check out the lists below for inspiration or ask a librarian for a personalized pick.

“I want to provide for my community.”

by Sarah Binns

If you're worried about the future of the world, think about this month’s Volunteer Spotlight, Lizette Sayavedra Herrera. A senior at Reynolds High School, Lizette is a driven activist who educates and champions her community. This may be the first time you’ve heard her name, but it won’t be the last.

Lizette started as a search assistant at Troutdale: “At first I thought it’d be fun and I could get out of the house.” She pauses and her voice fills with delight: “It turns out I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it.” Her volunteerism soon expanded as she became an assistant for La hora de aprender (The Learning Hour), an educational program for Spanish-speaking children. “I organize things, I read to the kids.” Another pause. “I blow up the balloons. The kids love the balloons.”

The program is close to Lizette’s heart, as she is a Mexican immigrant who came to the U.S. at age six. “When I moved here I didn’t have a lot of Spanish-speaking people around me.” She loves La hora de aprender because she can participate in Latino culture and because she gives kids the Spanish-speaking community she didn’t have.

Lizette is also a force for students of color at Reynolds, serving as co-president of the Latino Student Union and a member of the Black Student Union. “It’s a way for me to learn and grow. I’m Latina but I have a lighter complexion, which comes with privilege….” She addresses the complexities of racial identity and the need for awareness in communities of color: “You have to know when to step in and when to step back. Learning people’s stories, it’s what I have a passion for.”

Lizette will marry activism with academics when she attends Wellesley College this fall, pursuing biomedical engineering or pre-law. “My grandmother has diabetes. She takes up to ten medicines a day. If I can take her pills down from ten to five, that’s significant. Plus, groundbreaking medicines often aren’t available to people of color due to price gouging.” Lizette’s interest in law stems from the over-representation of Latinos and people of color in the U.S. prison system: “A lot of times people of color don’t have access to attorneys or the same legal opportunities.”

Bound for the east coast in the fall, Lizette is excited about Wellesley’s all-female campus: “I know I’ll learn from being surrounded by other women.” She’ll continue to be an advocate for communities of color. “I want to provide for my community,” she concludes. Look out world, Lizette Sayavedra Herrera is coming for you—and she is going to change it.  

A few facts about Lizette

Home library:  Troutdale

Currently reading:  The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander and The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

Favorite book from childhood:  The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

Most influential book:  Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan

Book that made you cry:  Esperanza Rising

Favorite browsing section: Young adult nonfiction

E-reader or paper?  Paper!

Favorite place to read: "My bed."

Thanks for reading the MCL Volunteer Spotlight. Stay tuned for our next edition coming soon! Read last month's Volunteer Spotlight.

Has the recent Netflix documentary "Wild Wild Country" piqued your interest on the history of the Rajneesh movement? Are you curious about how it was reported on at the time, before the internet and up-to-the-minute news feed updates?

Your friendly neighborhood library can help you learn more. Your library card grants you access to the Historical Oregonian, where you can read the headlines and the articles on the Rajneesh movement that riveted Oregonians at the time. Did you know that the Rajneesh movement published their own newspaper? Central Library has copies of these newspapers available for the community to look at. 

From tailored booklists to one-on-one appointments  to help you delve deeper on this or any other subject, your library is here to help guide you on your research path.

Multnomah County Library’s new mobile sewing lab is on the move! Funded through the library’s staff innovation program Curiosity Kick!, the program is piloting a series of Somali sewing classes at Capitol Hill and Gregory Heights libraries. 

The Library Sewing Project began as an idea proposed by Capitol Hill Library Assistant Suad M., Central Library Assistant Lisa T., and Capitol Hill Library Administrator Patti V., after the team heard from the Somali community a desire to find free neighborhood sewing classes. The proposal was selected by staff to receive a $10,000 Curiosity Kick grant in 2017.  

The team purchased ten sewing machines, a bin of sewing supplies, and a cart to transport the equipment and supplies throughout the library system. They also identified Somali speaking sewing instructors who could teach the four new beginning sewing programs.

When the new series of classes launched in March at Capitol Hill, all classes were filled to capacity with eight students each. The demand and interest for the sewing classes remains high.

“This program not only responded to community requests, it created a space for women who usually don't feel safe or comfortable using public institutions due to language barriers. By providing an instructor that shares the same language and culture, we reduced that barrier, and got over 100% attendance, 100% of the time,” said Suad.