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Okay hi thank you for being here today. My name is Jamie tram and I am an employee in Harris County Public Library. I've been a Harris county public library for 16 years and I am interviewing node meto via Paris. Mhm. Okay. Oh hello, my name is

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Norberto Vagaries and I previously worked for HCP L for four years. I am recording this interview in my lovely home here in League city but I'm just kidding, this is just a virtual background. I just want to give the impression that it's you know, I'm here

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Alden library um let's go with the first question. Okay Norberto, did you grow up in Houston? No, actually I was born in San Francisco and raised in the San Francisco Bay area. I moved to Houston in 2003, August of 2003. Okay um so what brought you

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here to Houston? So you know I was at a point when in my early twenties or I just felt like I needed to venture out a little bit and I wanted to be an airline pilot at the time. So I was like, hey you know what,

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let's look at Houston, there's a good opportunity out there for me, let's see what happens. So I packed my bags and I made my way here. Okay, so did you always want to be a pilot, is that what you wanted to be when you were growing

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up. Yes. Since I was a little kid, I always dreamed about being an airline pilot. I would look up at the plains of the sky the like man, I would so love to do that for the rest of my life. And so that was, that was

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my dream. Okay. Um, did you ever fly a plane here? We get explained me. Yes. Take it to fly plate. So of course when I went to uh, did my flight school training, I got to fly, you know, single engine planes. I actually got to go

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to um, these simulators at Houston hobby and when Continental Airlines was still around, I actually got to fly a couple of simulators with them as well. That's really cool. Um, let's see. Do you have any memories of visiting a library from when you were a child?

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Oh yeah. I mean growing up as a kid. I mean we didn't have the internet. Right? I mean everything was, if I need to go look up a do research on dinosaurs or do research on the ocean. I had to go to the library. So I

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have so many memories of going there because I needed to go get a book for school or just simply going with my family on the weekends to find a fun book to read. Well, when you found a fun book three, did you ever find a favorite

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book that you had as a child? Yes. There was one book that I could never let go as a kid and that was trumpet of the swan. That was my go to book that one. And of course right behind it was charlotte's web, but those were

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my two books that I could always pick up and just read and love every single time. That was a great stories. Yes. Did you have a favorite book as a teenager? You know? That's a really good question. As a teenager. It really wasn't until I was

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in high school in my english class, my english teacher, he introduced us to the great Gatsby and I was like, I don't know what this is going to be about but he, we would read it together as a class would have questions about it and I

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don't know, I just, I just remember really liking reading that in high school, so much imagery in that book, So much imagery. Really good book. Okay, um so let's talk about how you became involved with Harris County Public library. Um so how did she become involved

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in Harris County Public library? Whenever I was in California, I already worked for a library system there. And so when I moved here to Houston I was like well it would make sense for me to continue working in a library system because I already have the

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experience. So I first started with Houston public, that's where I was for a couple of years and then the thing was jenny working at the libraries whether it was in California, we're working with Houston public. I was the go to for a lot of technology issues

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like Hey Norberto, we have a patron here who's having difficulty using word or Hey number two, we have a patron here who's on the computers do that. So you know, I was starting to think to myself, you know, if there is a library that has a

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technology related position, I think I'm going to go for it because I'm doing so much of that here, that would be awesome if there was a library that you know, had a position like that available. And that's when I saw that Harris County was hiring for

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a tech trainer position and it was a part time position at Aldine. So I said, hey, this is actually what I was thinking about, this is the next step because I was a library assistant for so long and I was like, this is the next step

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up. You know, I love working at the public library, I love technology, so let's go for it, let's see how this goes and that's how I made my way into Harris County Public library system was as a part time tech trainer with Aldine. Okay. Yes, it

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was great having you here Aldine. We had such fun. Um how long did you end up working for Harris County Public Library? I ended up working for four years total two years. We're at all the part time and then a position opened up with parker Williams

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full time. So I transitioned to to their team, but I worked four years total. So what is your favorite thing about the library? My favorite thing about the library man, that's, there's so much to say, right, and I know we have only a little bit amount

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of time, but for me jenny personally, because we're talking, you know, I talked a little bit about my technology background. It's really that my favorite thing about the library was being able to make a difference whenever someone was struggling to say, hey, so I've got this

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document and I really don't know how to do this. Can you just show me, just don't do it for me, but just show me how I need to do this to this. And it's like, yeah, you just click here, click there, you're done and just seeing

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that facebook, oh my God, why you made this look so easy. It's like, but now I know how to do this and that was the satisfaction really was be able to show someone how to do something and for them to walk out say, great, well now

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I know I don't have to ever worry about asking this again because you've shown me how to do this. Yeah, I think that's the one of the best things about libraries so that we can always help people and so many aspects, not just books, computers. Um,

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you know, a school work with their Children and literacy. It's, I think, you know, it's great that we get to help people with this uh oh, talking about helping people, would you be able to tell me about a library patron that you'll always remember, man, that's

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a tough one. That's a tough one because there's so many that I remember and it's not necessarily for the bad experiences that sometimes we happen at the library. Right? It's not that it's the good, positive, feel good stories and the thing jenny in the four years

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I was with Harris County, there were so many feel good stories. Um, and Alden, Alden will always be very special to me because Alden was my first experience working in a neighborhood where, you know, people struggle at times and sometimes there's language barriers and I remember

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so many people coming up to me and speaking and especially my son needs to turn this in tomorrow. I have no idea what it is that he needs. Can you help me, can you show me what book it is? It's like, yeah, let me let me

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guide you. So there was just like this whole thing like I'm helping some of these folks, you know, it's like, there's actually, it's rewarding to do that because it's like these people are coming here because they're like, hey, I just need someone to lend me a

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hand to show me what I need to do to help my child and here we are. You know, we're providing that help and then when I moved to Parker Williams, you know, and being able to do these computer classes full time, you know, it was, I

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had all walks of life come in through that door, you know, I always remember folks coming in terrified of even touching the computer because they thought if I touched this computer is going to blow up on me and it's like, I promise you it's not going

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to blow up, but just see them so nervous, so worked up about using a computer that weeks later they'd be walking out there knowing how to use word, knowing how to use excel, how to do really cool slides in PowerPoint and seeing that, just seeing them

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grow. So it's hard for me to define just one specific patron when I just saw so many changing right before my eyes as far as their technology, um, acknowledge wind um um can you remember what the library was like when you first started working here? Well,

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I'll be honest, I haven't been to holding in a long time and I know that's my fault for not being up there and I have been to Parker Williams recently, so I've seen a couple of changes, but it's more like cosmetic changes, right? Um but you

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know, I still see the same training lab, the computers have been upgraded this, which is nice to see, but other than that it's pretty much been the same and of course, since my wife Marcelina raise works at Freeman and she tells me, you know, stories. I'm

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like yeah that's remember how those things used to be back then. And yeah, I remember that's how things were then. Right? So I can't say that personally. I can't say that a lot has changed since I left H CPL um but it just sounds to me

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like you guys continue doing the amazing things you were doing when I was working with you guys. How long has it been since you left? H. C. P. L. I left y'all in 2000 and nine. So it's been over 10 years in quite a while. Yeah.

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Do you remember when libraries changed? When was the last time your library had a card catalog? Yeah. So of course, you know, we go back to talking about my childhood, right? And I mean back then that's what it was. It was a card catalog system. And

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eventually we started to see things get onto these huge old computers right? Where it's like you have a database. And now you have to search, I'm looking for a book on oceans. Right? And then when I started getting involved with the library because I actually started

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as a volunteer and then I got moved into working at a library. But I remember as a volunteer. That's when the internet started to boom, that was the birth of the internet. So this was a time when alta vista was the search engine when Netscape Navigator

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was the web browser and of course most of our homes, we all dependent on that annoying dial up internet. Right? So where was it took? Crazy forever. So that's really when I start to see things change at the library because now people are like, hey, so

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I hear there's this thing called the internet or I can go search for things that go look for stuff and it's like, yeah, there is. And when I started first working at the library that I was working at the, it was called the reference desk back

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then downstairs. But that's where your primary role was was while you were helping folks with finding nonfiction books, helping them with the microfilm machine and digging up periodicals. You also assisted with scheduling computer time for them for one hour where they would go on a computer

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for one hour. I mean it wasn't even anything where you had a system for them to sign in. It was just the standard, here's a clipboard, I'm writing your name and it went out or you have to get off the computer. But that's where it was

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where people were just starting to go out and explore what there was out there on the internet. And that's where I started to see things change because now we've got computers at the library, it's no longer just I'm here to check out a book. It's like,

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yeah, I'm here to check out a book. But I also want to go explore on the internet, see what's out there. So that's why I started to see libraries changing of course. How long, you know, where are we now when it comes to technology? You know,

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How long, how far have we come? That's true now. We have computers in our phones. Pretty much. So talking about all these changes that have happened with the introduction of Internet and all these years that have passed, what do you think libraries will be like in

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10-20 years? You know, I'm gonna go with the 20 years here because of course by then it will be 2040. Right. But I do still, I still see libraries around. Okay. I don't see libraries going anywhere as far as the becoming obsolete, but sometimes you'll hear.

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But I do see libraries definitely becoming more digital. And the reason why I'm going for the 20 years versus the 10 years is because it's this all right. Because I still work uh, at a community college where I work in it and I help students with

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technology, we still have folks that are scared of technology that aren't ready to move to that next step where it's like, hey, we have an ipad, you want to search for your book and your ipad? Like no, no, no, no, no. I just want to talk

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to you. Can you help me find this book please. Right. So it's going to take awhile till we get folks to that level of being tech savvy. But I do see libraries definitely going to that digital stage, you know, so perhaps we will have those really

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cool ipads at that time where it's like you want to find a book, just type here and this ipad will actually walk you to your book, it will show you where it's located inside the library. You know, I could see that type of stuff happening where,

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you know, libraries are just so useful and so beneficial to everyone. It's not just one specific group of people. So, you know, I don't see them going anywhere. I just see them getting more technology advanced, great answers. So with that in mind, if you could give

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any advice to any future library staff or a friends group, what would it be? All I'm gonna say advice. I don't know if I have really solid advice, but all I can, I can leave you all is with this. The library will always be a special

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place in my heart. Okay. Because if it wasn't for the library, I wouldn't be where I am today. Okay. Um, the library really help me achieve to the job title where I'm at right now. Um, it was nothing but a rewarding experience. Yes, there are some

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days that suck. You know, and I get it and it happens with any job it has with any job, there's some days I just want to pull your hair because maybe you have that one individual just made your day that day, but never focus on that.

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Never focus on that one individual that gave you a rough time. Focus on the many individuals that you have helped make a difference because that's what's going to get through day to day. So if you ever have that bad moment, let it go. Don't take it

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home with you. Trust me, do not take it home. Just think about how much of an impact you're making because that's the thing, whether you think so or not, whether you work in reference, whether you work, insert, whether you work in tech, you are making a

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difference. So always keep that in mind and just keep on going because yes, for me, I would love to return to the library if I could, I would love to return because it was just such a rewarding and such an awesome experience. And I have nothing

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but good things to say for each library system that I worked at. So y'all just keep doing the amazing things you're doing. I know right now with this pandemic, it's a little interesting. It's a little weird right with how the library system is working, but yet

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you guys are still doing it and providing awesome services to the community. Thank you so much harm. Um I want to thank you for taking the time of day to talk to me. It was a great interview. Um, I hope to see in the future and

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you can visit the library. Some. Let me just go ahead and stop this recording. Yeah.