An employee at the Arlington Public Library has received a national award for her work as the community programming librarian.
According to information shared on the city of Arlington’s Twitter page, the American Library Association presented Yuliana Aceves with the “I Love My Librarian” Award for her work during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.
Aceves was among over 1,300 librarians nominated by library-goers across the U.S. Of those nominees, ten finalists received the award.
This year, I Love My Librarian Award recipients received $5,000 and a donation of $750 to their library.
The Arlington Public Library said that Aceves has been helpful with eliminating cultural and language boundaries across Arlington by providing bilingual support for families.
According to NBC DFW 5, Aceves started working at the library in August 2012 as a customer service associate. In 2016, she became a program specialist before transitioning to her current role as a librarian in 2019.
In an interview with the Arlington Public Library, Aceves expressed that she is living the American Dream, as she got to pursue her passions through her education and career.
“The first thing I think about when I hear someone say the American Dream, I think about my parents. They moved here from Mexico in the ’80s, I think. And they’ve lived here ever since. They came here to provide better opportunities for us, their kids.”
Aceves also said that her will to help people and her love for books drive her work, and she hopes to pass that love on to young children who visit the library.
“My favorite thing is [teaching] people that libraries aren’t just a building with books,” Aceves said. “We are a place for people to connect and learn.”
