Volunteer at Oaxaca Lending Library

The privately-funded library near San Francisco, CA, where I’d been the director for almost 13 years, lost its funding and closed in spring 2009. Full-time jobs for librarian/archivists in the San Francisco Bay Area were almost non-existent. Faced with the choice of working multiple part-time and substitute jobs to barely keep my head above water, versus renting my house and moving to Oaxaca to live a downsized and simplified life, in a culturally rich, full of life city - there was no choice!

Well, the choice wasn’t that easy! It took hundreds of emails, phone conversations, and all around emotional support from a friend who kept reminding me, I had options. I'd visited Oaxaca several times and had fallen in love with this small, people-friendly city, and thought eventually it might be a retirement destination. An early retirement seemed to be forced upon me and, within two months, I’d decided to be brave, seize the opportunity, and make lemonade out of lemons!

With a nod to Humphrey Bogart’s character in Casablanca: of all the volunteer opportunities, in all of Oaxaca, why did I walk into the Oaxaca Lending Library (OLL)? Well, the most obvious and initial reason is, I’m a librarian. I have a Masters in Library and Information Science and have years of experience providing reference and research services in a variety of library settings, cataloging all manner of items now found in library collections, designing and maintaining a library website, you name it. I had skills to offer.

The OLL is an English and Spanish language library run mostly by volunteers. It was founded in 1966; is open to the public; organizes educational, cultural, and social activities; and circulates its collection of books, DVDs, and audio books to members. It serves a diverse population that includes English and Spanish language residents, English and Spanish language students from young children to adults, yearly “snow birds,” and tourists.

On Saturdays, the OLL hosts two popular activities: Spanish/English intercambios and Niños Adelante, teaching English to children and their parents through songs and games. In addition, the Libros Para Pueblos program locates and works with villages in the State of Oaxaca to set up children's libraries. To date, 45 libraries have been established.

The importance of and need for libraries and library services in Oaxaca cannot be underestimated. Oaxaca is one of the poorest and most indigenous states in Mexico and according to a recent Sipaz report:

21.5% of the Oaxacan population is illiterate
26.7% of Oaxacan women are illiterate, compared to 15.5% of men
34% of children over five years old do not attend school
The average grade of education is 6th grade
Almost 20% of the population over 5 years old that speak an indigenous language do not speak Spanish