AURORA | For many Aurora residents, the public library is little more than a friendly, charitable neighbor. It’s a senescent resource that occasionally offers helpful tidbits; a recipe here, that elusive third disc of the third season of “Lost” there.
For others, the library remains the necessary institution it’s been for centuries — a vital bulwark of knowledge where information can be freely disseminated and accessed.
But for Nebeyou Nunamo, the central branch of the Aurora Public Library on East Alameda Parkway has become something else altogether — a home away from home.
“I used to come here a lot,” Nunamo, a native of Dire Dawa, Ethiopia, said of the central branch. “I would spend at least three hours at the library every day, because if you don’t have a job and spend all of your time in the house, you get bored. So I came here.”
That was in 2011, when Nunamo first moved to Aurora, alone, at the behest of his grandfather. Every day for about six months, he would trek, by foot, the nearly three miles from his apartment on the corner of East Mississippi Avenue and South Peoria Street to the central branch to use the computers, search for jobs, apply for graduate school scholarships and read motivational books.
“My grandfather told me to come to Denver because it’s a growing city, and so I came,” he said.
After months spent perusing the web, the stacks and regularly volunteering to teach computer classes, Nunamo grew to become a fixture of the library’s DNA. So much so, in fact, that in July 2014 city staff decided to make him a permanent piece of the facility’s operation — they hired him as a part-time employee.
“We finally had a part-time position open up and it just made sense,” said Virginia De La Paz, reference supervisor with the city’s library and cultural services department.
And it’s hard to argue with Nunamo’s library-focused résumé. He has a degree in library and information science from a university in Dire Dawa and is currently working toward a master’s degree in library science at the University of Denver. He also volunteers at the DU on-campus library and within the Denver Public Library system.
For many Aurora residents, the public library is little more than a friendly, charitable neighbor. It’s a senescent resource that occasionally offers helpful tidbits; a recipe here, that elusive third disc of the third season of “Lost” there.
Now more than a year into his role as a library assistant at the central branch in Aurora, Nunamo is leveraging his familiarity with the city’s burgeoning Ethiopian community to make sure the library is publicized as the valuable immigrant resource it is. Specifically, he’s started teaching one-on-one tutorials on various computer skills in Amharic, the official language of Ethiopia. The idea is to make the library’s myriad resources more available — and comprehensible — to a demographic that may not know what the facility offers.
“Those from the Ethiopian community have been coming in a little bit more now, and seem to feel a little bit more comfortable asking for help since he’s been here to the speak the language,” De La Paz said. “People are coming in and requesting him specifically.”
In 2007, there were 22 million native Amharic speakers in Ethiopia, according to the International Household Survey Network.
Nunamo said that he’s tried to spread the word on available library resources through several social mechanisms, including postings at community centers, the annual Taste of Ethiopia Festival and talking to his friends. He said it’s been difficult to convince some of his countrymen of the benefits of the library, because they’re not accustomed to such services being free of charge.
“A lot of people don’t believe it’s free,” Nunamo said. “I have to explain it to them that a library card is free here, and there’s so many things that come with that.”
De La Paz said Nunamo’s efforts have not only helped reach a new demographic, but also bolstered the notion of the library as a cultural center — not just a place to check out books.
“We’re really becoming more than a library, we’re becoming a cultural hub,” she said. “We still provide books and databases and such for the public, but we’re also a place where people come, have meetings, hold programs and so many different activities.”
De La Paz pointed to several available computer classes, piano classes and an upcoming “know your rights” legal workshop for immigrants as evidence of some of the available services that many people may not realize are offered.
“Hiring people from different backgrounds who speak different languages helps us tie into communities we otherwise may not be able to reach,” she said. “Because we have so many services, a lot of people just don’t know about them.”
Great work, guys! Libraries are great resources for the community, I like the idea of creating cultural centers for residents.
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You’re a f-ing idiot.
I have a better idea for AMERICA, LEARN ENGLISH, ALL THE BOOKS AND LITERATURE THERE WILL BE IN ENGLISH ALREADY.
WTF do you think they are doing at the library? Did you read the article, have you ever been to a library? Try reading, it might open up your outlook on life.
Troll? No AMERICAN. Did you read the article hotshot? He’s teaching skills in AMHARIC, not English. These are immigrants to our country, assimilate, become American, learn the language of the country, that’s must, not some people running around teaching them in their native tongue butt brain.
Specifically, he’s started teaching one-on-one
tutorials on various computer skills in Amharic, the official language
of Ethiopia. The idea is to make the library’s myriad resources more
available — and comprehensible — to a demographic that may not know what
the facility offers.
You meet people where they are. Yes, he is bringing people to the library by communicating with them in a language they already speak well. These are legal immigrants, by and large. Mr. Nunamo is a perfect example himself of how to integrate immigrants into American society and culture. Only small-minded people such as yourself find negatives in this.
My grandparents came to America at the turn of the century, they learned the language here, English, no signs in Italian, no voting ballots in Italian, only English, NO GERMAN, NO HAITIAN, NO GUATEMALAN, AND CERTAINLY NO AMHARIC, OR AFRICAN. Become American. As long as you pander to immigrants in their native tongue, you get more of the same, your idea of ‘decency’ becomes demands, what we have here in America now. Over 200 languages on ballots in California, decency?.
I would imagine that in immigrant communities, even 100 years ago, communicating in shared languages besides English is quite common. Heck, I speak Spanish around the house and with my co-workers. I have found in my travels that English speakers tend to speak English no matter what the local, native tongue may be.
They came here in 2000? Boy you know English really well already. But of course the true Americans are the ones who we took the continent away from. How are you with Native American languages, GooGoo?
I apologize to the nice folks featured in this article for the ignorant, hurtful comments by the Troll gofastgo. Mr. Goo, can you take your tirades elsewhere? Why do you attack people for helping others? Have you no sense of decency?
Don’t apologize for me you ignoramus, you open borders folks give America a bad name, you don’t believe in our laws, get out. We send aid to nearly every country in the world, to their country, if you immigrate to America legally, learn to be American, not an Ethiopian living in America.
Again, WTF do you think they are doing at the library? Ignorant fools such as yourself will be the downfall of this country, if you ever get your way.
The word is ’emigrate’ in that particular usage.
Yes, he’s the most quoted troll in the entire paper. His intolerance, stupidity, inability to write clearly and concisely, his bigotry, his hatefulness, his downright meanness are well known. Nebeyou, if you are unfortunate enough to read his ignorant and vile posts, just know that he’s well known in these parts. Gradually, more and more people are starting to ignore him, and I hope you will as well. Congratulations on what you’re doing at the library. You deserve all the recognition you can get!
Last tuesday I got a top of the McLaren F1 from earning $16020 this last four weeks and also 15-k last-month . this is definitely the coolest work I have ever done . Without any question it’s the most financially rewarding Ive had . I started this 4 months ago & practicaIIy straight away began to bring home over $97 p/h .Visit weblink to start immediately.
..gxh………
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