CURRENT POSITION On the Road to Kindergarten Instructor/Research Specialist, Howard County Library System, MD DEGREE LATI Certification, Maryland State Library Institute, 2019 FAST FACT Before becoming a librarian, Irma owned and ran her own bakery while homeschooling her three children. FOLLOW youtu.be/1eKuvXpmQb0 Photo by Geoffrey Baker

Pre–K Priorities

When Irma Fernandez first took the Howard County Library System’s mobile library van to Deep Run Trailer Park in Elkridge, MD, a community of primarily Hispanic residents, she wore a sweatshirt version of the outfit worn by El Chapulín Colorado, a beloved Mexican TV character. Teenagers who grew up watching the show recognized the sweatshirt and came over to check out the van. “Since then, more kids have been coming because they recognize me,” Fernandez says. “That was a defining moment for me. There’s a relatability to a person at the library that makes them keep coming, and that’s what I’m trying to achieve.”

As the lead instructor with the On the Road to Kindergarten mobile library, Fernandez helps transform the lives of children in Howard County’s underserved communities through early literacy programs. The van visits all of the pre–K students at every elementary school in the county, bringing library resources and material to children of all backgrounds to help them get ready for kindergarten.

Fernandez knows how important it is for the community to see itself represented in books and the library as an institution. The child of Mexican-American immigrants, she understands the challenges they face and has seen the powerful effect that libraries can have on children. “It’s one of those fights that’s ongoing,” she says. “If I can change that for even one child who’s never been to a library before…that’s amazing.”