Library's Hispanic services coordinator relishes her job

Elisa Seiler was hired in May as the Carson City Library's new Hispanic services coordinator. She took over for Javier Ramirez, who moved on to become the city's citizens outreach coordinator.

Seiler might be a familiar face to some residents because she taught part-time at Western Nevada Community College. She's also volunteered and worked part-time at Nevada Hispanic Services, and has been an English-Spanish translator.

"I love it," said Seiler, 55, of her new job. "I've always liked to work with people. This job gives me the opportunity."

Her job entails overseeing the library's Spanish-language collection. She acquires materials and organizes a variety of events that provide information about Hispanic culture.

Right now, for example, she is seeking people to participate in "Traveling Through America." The program focuses on teaching youth about the various facts and cultures that comprise the Americas - North, South and Central.

Volunteers are always welcome, especially people who are familiar with specific countries in the region. Seiler also emphasized that people who have visited or lived in parts of countries that aren't well known or highly populated are encouraged to share their experiences.

This is because life and culture differs in each community or state. Mexico, for example, varies from rugged mountains to low coastal plains, and has a population that exceeds 100 million.

"It's a big country," and someone's experience is different depending on which state in which they've lived or visited, she said.

Seiler describes her birthplace, El Salvador, as small. She's from a community in the east near San Miguel, where they didn't have running water or electricity when she was young. But she can tell where other Salvadorans come from by "the way they talk or act."

She also works on the library's information and check-out desks and in its youth section.

She and her husband, Ralph, met in El Salvador. She was working in the herpetology department of a natural history museum in the capital, San Salvador. Herpetology is the study of snakes, and her bachelor's degree is in biology. Ralph, a member of the Peace Corps at the time, worked in the museum as a botanist.

Seiler came to the United States in 1980. She had help from her husband, who picked up Spanish while he was in El Salvador. Her in-laws also helped her acclimate to life in the U.S.

Many others aren't so lucky, however, and helping people learn how to help themselves is a big part of what she and others at the library do. People who use the library hail from sites across the globe. If they are relatively new residents, they might want to find out how to deal with government or school officials or learn how to balance their household budget.

"I love being able to help them," she said.

The Seilers has lived in Carson City since 1988. They have two teenage sons.

• Contact reporter Terri Harber at tharber @nevadaappeal.com or 882-2111, ext. 215.