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San Antonio Public Library, San Antonio, TX

The San Antonio Public Library is striving to make its city of 1.2 million people a community of learning. The library has a strategy that addresses the cultural mosaic of the San Antonio community and is helping to boost library usage, especially among the hard-to-reach, low-income, Spanish-speaking population. The San Antonio Public Library can now boast that its programs and services bring approximately 10,000 people a day through the doors of its many branches.

Debra Torres (TOR-es) is a full-time mother who is studying accounting at Palo Alto Community College. Her goal is to own her own accounting firm. As a child, Debra spent hours at the library. Her parents did not appreciate the value of reading, but Debra was fascinated by books and had a great love of learning. She has placed strong emphasis on reading with her own children. She read to her son Oswaldo at a very early age. Now 13, Oswaldo is an eighth-grade honor student who loves going to the San Antonio Public Library on his own. Debra also participated in the library’s Born to Read with her second son Ramon, who was born in January of 2005.

Ramiro S. Salazar is the Director of the San Antonio Public Library. Before joining the San Antonio Public Library in April 2005, Mr. Salazar served as Interim Assistant City Manager for the City of Dallas and served Director of the Dallas Public Library from 1993 to 2004. He also served as Director of the El Paso Public Library for three years. Mr. Salazar received his Bachelor of Arts from Texas A&I University in Kingsville, TX, and his Masters of Library Science from the Texas Woman’s University in Denton, Texas. Mr. Salazar believes in forging partnerships with the community to enhance the library’s programs and services. He is the recipient of several state and national honors.