Big Plans take a Detour (or 2 or 3)!
I had elaborate plans for my professional leave. I was going to rock the relationships between FIU Libraries and UNAM Libraries. I was going to coordinate COIL projects. I was going to return to Miami fluent in español. I was going to make lifelong connections between libraries. I was going to find new ways of teaching information literacy and return revitalized. I was going to magically create new friendships and connections between FIU students and UNAM students. I projected the 8 months would be busy with lots of adventure and learning.
One can be ambitious and have a rock-solid plan. One can be unrealistic in those ambitions. A pandemic can make one with the perfect plan and ambitious goals have a reality check. Pandemic or not, the plan was lofty and formidable and in the end there were a number of reality checks.
Reality Check 1: Originally I was to begin my professional leave in May of 2020, but we all know what happened at the beginning of 2020. As a result, I postponed the start of the leave until January 2022 when most of México was still working remotely. Luckily, el Centro de Enseñanza para Extranjeros (CEPE) had begun face-to-face instruction (with required Covid testing, mask wearing, and social distancing). I was ready to jump in and successfully complete the goal of C2 in español. Little did I know that I would test at B1 and be thankful that I didn't skip a level.
Reality Check 2: I wanted to meet the librarians at la Biblioteca Central on the UNAM campus. However, it was closed due to Covid so I reached out via individual emails to librarians, chairs, and directors and didn't receive a response. I could hear crickets or to be less cliched, it was quieter than riding the Méxican metro during the pandemic. In general the metro is extremely quiet on a normal day but during the pandemic, the silence and social distancing wowed me. CDMX is a huge city with a lot of people so I assumed the metro and the streets would be loud, but I was constantly surprised by the quietness. It was a little jarring when I returned to Miami.
Not one to give up, I sent a follow-up email to everyone. Hours turned into days which turned into weeks, but finally I received a response. Mtro. José Hernández Sánchez (name changed for privacy), Jefe del Departamento de Consulto Biblioteca Central, responded that he would be happy to meet with me outside the library.
Reality Check 3: Sending an email in español is one thing, but having a meeting with a librarian in español is an entirely different challenge. I met with José outside the library in masks around the hustle and bustle of students coming and going. The library was still closed and I didn't have permission to enter. The meeting was friendly and I was able to effectively communicated even with the noise and the masks at the sidewalk meeting. I asked José about observing a library instruction session (via Zoom) but he was concerned about privacy issues. I asked if he would be able to answer a few other questions via email and he eagerly agreed. He mentioned that once the library re-opened we could meet again and discuss ways to collaborate. I followed up via email with the questions and the hope to meet again. Those crickets / metro movers were getting noisy again, because I never heard from José again. At that point, I became strategic and started thinking what else I could do. I realized, if the Central Library wasn't interested in collaborating, there were 140 other possible UNAM libraries.
Reality Check 4: Unfortunately, the other libraries were closed too. I started thinking and sometimes my thoughts were louder than the crickets. There was always the CEPE Biblioteca (where I was studying) which always had its doors open but was covered in crime scene caution tape. I emailed and almost immediately, I received a response from Eric. I met with him and he was fantastic. I learned about the UNAM library system. We spent 1.5 hours together. After my meeting with Eric, I reached out to la Biblioteca Nacional and was quickly granted a behind the scenes tour. La Biblioteca Nacional is on the UNAM campus so I was able to piece together more about the library operations but I still felt like I was missing that all important collaboration between the libraries.
Reality Check 5: UNAM is HUGE (just like my elaborate plans). I thought, "Maybe I should go small. Maybe I should reach out to other libraries in CDMX." I emailed all of the librarians at La Salle University, CDMX and the librarians at Instituto Politécnico Nacional. I was also connected with the Foreign Services Librarian at la Biblioteca Benjamín Franklin. Instituto Politécnico Nacional was a bust and so was la Biblioteca Benjamin Franklin. But La Salle University Librarians were eager to meet with me. I met with all of the librarians via Zoom for over an hour. I visited the library for more than 3 hours, and I had a follow-up visit to start planning how we can collaborate and make connections between students and faculty.
Reality Check 6: La Biblioteca Central is focused on research, less so on student engagement. La Biblioteca La Salle, CDMX is all about collaboration, student engagement, and made time for the unknown librarian to meet via Zoom for over an hour, visit the library for a half-day visit and reached out to me to collaborate. I learned that it is OK to have elaborate plans but a pandemic can shake things up and send things in a different direction.
Reality Check 7: CDMX has lots of libraries and I had time. It was time to start researching and reporting on the beautiful libraries throughout the city. Find Sarah on SJH TV network reporting live from a few libraries around the city on the various pages in this guide.
Detour to Destination: The detours were many; the plans were grandiose, but the outcome was successful. Please see the different pages on this guide to learn about libraries in México.