CURRENT POSITION Assistant Director, Miami-Dade Public Library System, FL DEGREE MLIS, University of South Florida, 2022 FAST FACT Lopez is a valuable trip planner for family and friends; she’s currently working on a holiday trip to Spain in December for 19 people. FOLLOW mdpls.org; MiamiID.org Photo by Alisha A. Latham

Ensuring Identification

Lydia Lopez’s work opened access to services for Miami-Dade county residents who might not otherwise have had them—lifesaving medical tests and vaccines, entry into one’s home following a hurricane or fire, or even just the opportunity to reserve government-owned tennis courts—all because they don’t meet the requirements to obtain a driver’s license or state-issued identification. These are often vulnerable and disadvantaged individuals—the elderly, formerly incarcerated, foster youth, unhoused individuals, survivors of domestic violence, transgender persons, and others.

In 2021, county commissioners passed a resolution allowing residents to use a community ID as legal identification. Miami-Dade Public Library System (MDPLS) was tasked with establishing a program that Lopez developed and implemented, meeting with multiple county departments including the Miami-Dade Police Department to determine which services could be provided using a community ID, which nonprofit organizations had the capacity to provide such a program, what security measures were needed to minimize fraudulent use, and how to balance security controls with meeting the needs of vulnerable users. Lopez’s efforts led to the selection of local social-justice nonprofit Branches to issue community IDs to Miami-Dade residents beginning in 2022. As of January 1, Branches has served 1,205 individuals and issued 736 Community ID cards. “I’m passionate about helping others achieve their goals,” says Lopez. “Having access to quality information and resources always helps this endeavor.”

MDPLS Director Ray Baker says, “Lydia Lopez’s efforts on the community ID project went above and beyond many of the core values of librarianship in [promoting] access, democracy, and equity/diversity for residents of our county.”