A Jaguar in the Library

It is heart-felt cogitation of a sincere Latina library administrator who dedicated her professional life to providing services to the Hispanic population, wherever she served. On her quest, she encounters the very profound, individual, and structural face of discrimination and the debasing effects of denial of information and library services to Latinos and minorities-let them pay taxes, but don't let in the library! On June 26, 2020, about 144 years after its founding, The American Library Association (ALA), very likely forced by the unprecedented racial demonstrations in the streets of America, has issued a declaration of responsibility: "ALA takes responsibility for past racism, pledges a more equitable association."

It is a riveting personal and intimate story of the professional trajectory of Elizabeth Martinez. She took the librarians' publicly articulated commitment to serve and provide information and library services to all, very seriously. She risked many times her career and high-level administrative positions to expand those services to Latinos, and minorities, the underserved populations. She experienced the anguishes and the blisses, the obstructions and visions, the raw insults and inspiring moments, and, most of all, her hard work fueled by her profound professional commitment to serving the minority populations. This book is an inspirational as well as a didactic tale of what happens to a capable minority female administrator when she means business and becomes a change agent refusing to accept the discriminatory pattern of public and library services.