Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jessica Matos. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Jessica, appreciate you joining us today. Can you share an important lesson you learned in a prior job that’s helped you in your career afterwards?

Prior to my adventures as a public librarian, I taught elementary and middle school music in public schools. I think one of the most important lessons that I have really tried to make a part of my everyday living came from when I was at a teacher training at the beginning of a school year. This particular year, I was working at a school that was implementing social emotional learning practices to help children learn to think about their own behaviors and emotions and thus be able to deal with and express them more effectively. All the staff had to read the same book and discuss how everyone should implement the material in their classroom. The gist of the material that really spoke to me was two-pronged. 1) You really have no control over anything, except for yourself, and 2) You can’t really help anyone else with their work/emotions/behavior without first getting your own house in order.

As an instructor you are trained in thinking of various strategies to try and impart knowledge and life skills to your students. I now feel that these strategies come from a place of no actual control. You cannot “make” your students behave in a certain way or learn material presented. You can only find out what incentives or consequences will hopefully bring about change. The control you have is only over what you can do to try and achieve your goals. If you do not succeed, then the first thing to do is check to see if there is something that you are in control of that you can change meet your goals.
I feel that once you get into the habit of working on yourself (skills, emotions, behaviors), that’s when you can really help others if you have a mind to. By working on my own sense of calm in the face of the unexpected, I am able to help those around me take their own deep breath to work through whatever sudden situation pops up.
I think keeping these things in mind helps me as a supervisor, teacher, and of course as a reference librarian constantly working with the public.

Jessica, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Jessica Matos. I work for the City of Texas City as the Assistant Director at Moore Memorial Public Library. How did I get here? I feel it took me longer than it should have. In my prior life (pre-Age 35), I lived the typical bohemian musician lifestyle. I originally studied to be a public school music teacher, didn’t feel quite prepared to teach, continued my studies in classical vocal performance, auditioned a bit, worked as a barista, taught private lessons until finally becoming the manager of a private lesson studio.  At this location, I had a fantastic boss who was constantly pushing me to do better and think about what I really wanted in life.  I decided that I then felt fully prepared to teach public school, so off I went. I enjoyed it greatly, until I didn’t.  So I took stock of my skills and experiences for a second time, and realized that Adult Librarian really ticked quite a few boxes. Like organizing – Check. Love working with people – Check.  Enjoy Instructing – Check  – and the list went on.

After a few years as Adult Services Librarian with MMPL, I was able to move up into my current position of Assistant Director. Both of these positions have been very fulfilling and have allowed me to develop new skills involving all aspects of public service.

Now, I’ve never claimed to be a “creative”, even as a musician. I’ve always said that I am “re-creative”. Show me something that’s been done somewhere else, and I can make it happen. And that’s what I’ve been doing. It’s been great fun! Scouring the web for great crafts, finding successful programs at libraries across the nation, having conversations with patrons about what they would like to see at their library and then implementing those ideas.   Many do not realize that modern public libraries are not solely a repository for books and a quiet place to read or work. We are community hubs, maker-spaces, public learning centers for engaging the whole community regardless of gender, age, and race.

Some of my favorite programs that I’ve put together from these great ideas: Free Family Portrait Day (patrons sign up for time slots with a volunteer photograph and receive one free 8×10 glossy); Cookbook Club (a.k.a “Spice, Spice, Baby – each month participants received a sample of a different spice and some cookbook recommendations at the meetup); Memory/Caregiver Kits for checkout – includes nostalgia items, conversation starters, music, games, etc. to help caregivers with activities for seniors); BYOB Club (Bring Your Own Book Club – not your normal book club where everyone reads the same material/genre – we have a great time discussing anything participants have been perusing each month).

Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?

Ask questions and network, network, network! I got very lucky to have extra time to go to various non-profit meet-ups in our City when we were renovating during my first year as an adult services librarian. I was able to introduce myself to many of the social service organizations working in the community. These connections and group emails led me to other community organizations, that in-turn became discussions and offers for programming for the community. Through this always growing web of connections we were able to start: Citizenship Preparation classes (Ser y Hacer Galveston), free health screenings (Galveston County Health District), Health Literacy conversations (Taking Our Best Shot), job search seminars (Workforce Solutions), small business/entrepreneurship classes (Galveston County Small Business Development Center), basic financial education (AMOCO Federal Credit Union & Wellby Financial), Birding Enthusiasts group (Galveston County Master Naturalists), non-fiction creative writing classes (Bay Area Council on Drugs and Alcohol), and more.

I’ve made it a point to try and attend at least one, hopefully two, networking meetings a month to keep my eye on possible new partnerships for programming. And if we can’t partner to program, the library can at least make sure our patrons know all of the various services that are available to them throughout the county.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I think the fact that I jumped in and made myself visible and welcoming helped build my reputation here at MMPL. As mentioned previously, I work hard to represent Moore Memorial Public Library as a place that wants to work with community partners to help meet all our county residents’ needs. I will also periodically go to City Commission meetings, Community Conversations with the Mayor, and other events, just to be seen and to represent the library as a place that wants to be actively involved in the community. Also, when going to any meetings, I think it is important to be vocal, even if what you are saying is just a short greeting. For me, it’s pretty easy, there is always some sort of program or service to share. But if I didn’t have something in particular, just a sentence or two thanking someone else for their service or presentation would be what I would do. I think it’s very important to be visible and show that you are there at the table, ready to get to work. This has paid off for me in spades. Instead of having to do as much legwork to reach out, I’m now getting emails and calls from others who have heard about MMPL because of the rapport that I and our other librarians have worked on with our local community.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://library.texascitytx.gov/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/moorepubliclibrary
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-matos-8876a4154/