Loida García-Febo

Colombian Library Superhero

Meet Wilton Hurtado Cuero, librarian and superhero bringing a Maleta Viajera (traveling suitcase) to the residents of Municipio Olaya Herrera in Colombia. 

Last Thursday, April 24, the Colombian library association, ASCOLBI, awarded its Librarian of the Year Awards and Wilton was one of the four librarians honored in the country.

Wilton story inspired me more than anything I saw or listened to during my stay in Bogotá. Shortly after receiving his degree as a librarian in 2004, he started to work as the public librarian of the Afro-Colombian community of Boca de Satinga in the Municipio Olaya Herrera in the Pacific Department of Choco. He is a man of action. When a flood from the Canal Naranjo destroyed his library, he asked for help to the government to continue providing books to the library users. As part of the National Reading and Library Plan, the city provided Wilton with a rucksack.

He started to bring books to his customers using the rucksack and the Maleta Viajera was born. Wilton would walk for hours along the Rio Santiago to bring books to three schools and to houses of customers in remote neighborhoods. Every week Wilton would bring new books, ask customers what they wanted to read and little by little he re-established the librarian-customer relationship they had before the library was destroyed. 

While visiting the schools, Wilton started to noticed that students were falling asleep and shortly afterwards he found out that some children were not eating at all. The illegal fumigation used to kill cocaine plants killed crops cultivated by the children families decimating their economy. Immediately, Wilton talked to the teachers and together contacted the Family Department securing food stamps for the families.

Recently, the county rented a house that serves as a temporary library. Wilton receives, prepares and shelves the books. He also cleans the library because there is no one else to help with that. Wilton is raising chickens and rabbits in the backyard of the house. He is going to stay in Satinga until he establishes a new library. 

Last Thursday, Wilton took a three hour boat trip from Satinga to Tumaco, followed by a 6 hour taxi ride to the Pasco airport where he took a 50-minutes flight to Bogotá. He was welcomed by Colombian colleagues and international visitors attending the awards ceremony at the Virgilio Barco Library Auditorium. I was one of them. I will never forget a librarian like Wilton. He is really passionate about his work and the people he serves. Here’s to you, Wilton!

*Check this blog again on Thursday for more about my visit to Colombia and news about my impending visit to Puerto Rico!

Posted by Loida García-Febo on April 29, 2008 | Comments (4)