Loyalty and Hairdressers

Chufo, a fellow Latino Librarian colleague of mine that works at DPL’s central library gave me this great analogy about Latino Loyalties. Given that library professionals are primarily Anglo women we needed an analogy to explain how loyal our Hispanic culture can be to their beloved librarians, even those who are not bilingual and bicultural.

Think of your hairdresser for a moment. How loyal would you say you are to this person? How much do you trust them with your hair? How long did it take you to find this person? How often have they moved and how far did you follow them to their new location, even if it was now inconveniently across town? Does it matter how much in advance you have to make an appointment? Do you switch hairdressers just because the price goes up or do you stay and pay the new rates?

The loyalty that most women feel for their hairdressers is very similar to the relationship that Spanish speaking patrons build with librarians who they can speak to, understand them culturally and who help them with their life’s needs.

Chufo and I began swapping stories of patrons who have followed us not only from one branch to another, but from one library system to another. I have a particular patron who happens to also be from my mothers home state of Veracruz. I met him around 2004 in the Glendale Branch of the Arapahoe Library District. He then followed me to Aurora Public Library from Mission Viejo branch, to Tallyn’s Reach branch and finally to Central branch. Then I got laid off and hired at the Belmar Branch at Jefferson County Public Library and he showed up there. He even came to visit me at the Wheat Ridge branch when I did a short 3 month stint at that branch.

So he’s been my loyal patron over 8 years following me through 3 library systems, 6 branches all the while helping him and his family, his friends, people he works with, fellow poets, and even girlfriends. I’ve helped him learn computer skills, create a resume, find work, publish poetry, perform programs at libraries, and even spent time celebrating a birthday or two.

 I’ve even had one patron from as far away as Fort Collins follow me to my new jobs in Denver metro area. And Chufo has experienced many of the same types of patron loyalties serving his Latino community members.

I’ve taught in many a workshop that if you are doing outreach right, the individual becomes the institution. Loyal patrons won’t say, “Go to the library for help” they will instead say, “Go see Larry, he’ll help you. You can find him at the ____ library….”         

At this point you know you have earned the communities trust and loyalty.