This is a picture from 2013 when Leticia, “Letty”, Cotto won a REACH neighborhood service award (second from the left). She was serving as the Branch Manager of the Hartford Public Library’s Park Branch. Letty was commended for her gift of authentic connection and for going above and beyond her job description to connect families with the resources and information they needed. One example of this was when a popular computer literacy class was cancelled because of a lack of funding. Unwilling to accept that, Letty stepped up and taught the class herself.  “I love my job,” she said, “and what motivates me is unlocking the potential of everybody who walks through the door. I wholeheartedly believe that libraries have the power to unleash that potential.” One example of unleashing potential was when Letty saw parents waiting for their children to finish getting homework help. Instead of overlooking them, she began offering ESL and computer literacy classes for the parents while they waited. In addition, being committed to connecting people with culture and community, Letty hosted regular art exhibits and coordinated the Affleck Street Community Garden.

Before serving as the branch manager, Letty ,with the help of family members, opened la Paloma Sabanera Coffeehouse and Bookstore at the corner of Capitol Avenue and Babcock Street (Letty’s brother Luis pictured in café below). “We felt that so many people in the City of Hartford were finding it more and more difficult to stay connected to their language and culture,” she said in 2013, “and we wanted to provide a place where that could happen.” The bookstore specialized in Spanish language books by and about Latinx authors and themes. Patrons would read and discuss the books the store carried. When the library branch manager position opened in 2005, it was a natural step for Letty to continue providing space for people to connect with culture, literature, and community.

So where is she now? Today Letty serves in the leadership of Hartford Public Library as the Customer Experience Officer (CXO). She began this role in 2017. In this role she thinks strategically about how to create alignments with library resources that best serve library guests and create change. She continues her laser focus on the importance of every interaction the library has with guests and its power to impact the trajectory of someone’s life. From information about housing, food and basic needs, to research assistance or applying for grants, the library is there to serve you with authenticity, whatever your need may be. It is this authenticity that is the building block for strong relationships. These strong relationships are the reason why families from 2013 are still visiting the Park Street Library and why Letty still gets phone calls from people she met as a Branch Manager with questions about navigating different resources.

In 2013 Letty was asked about the difficulty of providing services in a library with limited space. She said, “Instead of seeing problems I like to see opportunities.” This attitude served her well when the library had to face the reality of providing services while its doors were shut during COVID-19. Since people couldn’t come to the library, the library went to them. Letty and her team developed virtual programming where community members made videos sharing skills like how to make tortillas, play an instrument, or sew a face mask.  To address the digital divide, some residents received devices and training to keep up with their learning. The library also made adapters on their 3-D printers to allow health care workers at UConn Health to have more face masks (pictured below).  With intentionality, creativity, and deep listening, the library was able to be present in a difficult moment.

The importance of intentionality and listening was instilled in Letty from a young age. She grew up in the North End of Hartford and was a member of a politically active church. She was a part of the activism of Maria Sanchez, the type of activism that is loud, present, and committed to education and justice. Letty was also a student at Ann Street Bilingual school where she was shaped by the leadership of Edna Negron. During this time, Letty saw what it took to build community. It is a process that involves right relationships, intentional listening, and removing prejudices you might have. It happens through conversations with true listening where, “you are not trying to be correct or make a point,” Letty said. “You are looking at how to build a network to change systems, inform, and shift power dynamics.” Intentional and deep listening that builds relationships, and creates change – this is the thread woven through all of Letty’s work. We would be wise, and our world better off, if we all learned to sew in a similar way.