Cachita: the essence of a Cuban librarian.

Her journey from books began so early that she never again conceived existence without them. In the large family collection of a little girl from Cardenas began the romance with letters, the dance of discoveries, the dream linked to the library.

Caridad Contreras Llorca did the first practical work of her studies in Art History next to the newspapers of a newspaper library. Later, the pleasant memory of those hours in the José Martí National Library would make her determine with more certainty her destiny.

«I arrived in Matanzas recently graduated and I had to choose between directing the provincial Movement of Amateur Artists or joining the Art Room of the Gener y Del Monte Public Library. I didn’t think twice. I’ve been very lucky that work for me is not only the way I make a living, I get paid for doing what I like,» she says.

«I like to read and I have a lot of books at my disposal to do so, I like to teach and I have not only taught my colleagues, but also the users who come in; I like to guide the reading, «this book is good for this or that», I can also do that here; and I really like working with newspapers, magazines, making the bibliographic indexes…»

With a degree in Scientific and Technical Information and Library Science, Cachita, as everyone knows her, knows that information must be organized, otherwise it would be lost. Perhaps, because of this commitment she feels with letters, she enjoys her work so much:

«You can remember that you once read something that you would like to go over again, but where? With datebooks, indexes and newsletters, it’s possible to find it. Also, since I worked in the Art Department, I used to look for information about artists and if their careers were not yet included in books, I would write papers about them, in case someone needed them in the future».

«I also taught appreciation courses to fifth graders; at lunchtime I would go to work centers as part of the library extension and give them talks on Art History. Seeing people’s faces as they learned about those works was very stimulating».

Another question and another – who wouldn’t want to listen to Cachita! I now try to rummage through the most pleasant experiences and her answer immediately breaks all the silences: «The greatest has been working. To assist the researchers, who are also my colleagues, from the Department of Rare and Valuable Collections where I have been working for several years, and to help them find the information is a great comfort to me».

«In terms of satisfaction, I am also happy that my colleagues recognize a series of distinctions and awards that I have received, but what really gives me the most satisfaction is that people are happy».

Cachita’s countless achievements include the Raúl Gómez García and María Teresa Freyre de Andrade national awards, the Antonio Bachiller y Morales Commemorative Seal, just to mention a few. It also holds the La Aurora de Matanzas award, instituted by the Gener and Del Monte Library; and this year it was awarded the La Tórtola Distinction, granted by the Provincial Directorate of Culture.

This is how he celebrates the Day of the Cuban Librarian. It has been many years that she has remembered this date within the same institution. But she knows that although times change, the requirements to be a good librarian do not change.

«First of all you must read, secondly read, read, read, read and read. Unfortunately, this habit has been lost, but there cannot be a librarian who does not read, because in that way she will not be able to guide anyone in reading, nor give a reference. The whole librarian technique is learned, a course is taken, it is self-taught; but culture must be cultivated every day to provide the best service», she points out.

«The other thing that I think is very important is the level of communication with others. We must establish a conversation in which the user feels comfortable, but at the same time we must know the characteristics of the person, what she is looking for and why. It’s not the same to ask for information for a thesis as for a morning paper.

Cachita walks confidently through the halls of the library. She carries in her chest jealously guarded the greatest references, whom she met while doing her internship at the National Library, such as Israel Echeverría, «magnificent referencer» or Aracelys García Carranza, «the most important bibliographer in Cuba», among so many others.

She watched them work, how they did their tasks. They were very important in her formation. And then, in Matanzas, she soon admired Elsa González, Nereida Escaig, Teresa and Lourdes Rodríguez, Mirta Martínez, Elisa Bermúdez. They were the ones who taught her in practice all the library secrets.

«It was a very serious team, very responsible. We worked very hard, we went to the neighborhoods to do outreach activities and we had fun. In addition to that group that helped me grow as a professional, I was fortunate to have a very cultured director, who was always aware of everything that was going on,» he says.

«Israel Batista gave freedom to the department heads to make all their dreams come true, supported every initiative, and was very concerned about making the library become more and more widespread in society. Years later, Orlando García Lorenzo would do the same, with a different personality and a different way of doing things».

But behind the remembrance of those early years of practice, Cachita hides an unwavering confidence in the present and the future: Information and Communication Technologies may facilitate many of the traditional tasks that librarians used to perform, but they will not make this profession die.

«That communication that allows us to discover the real needs of the user and guide him or her cannot be established by any program. The ability to make people fall in love and motivate them to read, through a chosen passage or through their own emotions when reading, is only a human being’s ability,» she adds.

«The work of the librarian as a referent, as a guide, as a person who makes you participate in recreation, delight, entertainment and at the same time education, will be maintained even if we make use of digital media. Added to this are the activities it promotes as a social space for exchange, because it is not the same to enjoy them in person than at a distance».

For the professor and researcher with numerous postgraduate studies, publications and scientific awards, reading offers the possibility of living other lives as well. She, like that little girl from Cardenas, still discovers an infinite magic in the possibility of leafing through or smelling the smell of a new book. That is why she is sure that libraries… and librarians… will last for a long time.

Written by Heidi Suárez.