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Esperanza Acosta Moreno
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El Paso’s newest
Regional Library has been officially named
the Esperanza Acosta Moreno Regional Branch
Library in honor of the first Hispanic
professional librarian from El Paso. The new
library is located at 12480
Pebble Hills Boulevard, east of Joe Battle. The
name was submitted along with many other entries during a contest held
by the El Paso Public Library Association Board.
The entries were judged in July 2006 by a panel
of 14 people representing the library staff, the library board,
and the public at large. The name was chosen because of the contributions
made by Ms. Moreno during her 42 years of service to
the El Paso community.
Ms. Moreno was born on December 23, 1932. She
graduated from Austin High School and later UTEP
with a Bachelors degree. She received her
Masters degree in Library Science from the
University of Illinois and went to work in
Youngstown, Ohio upon graduation.
After 3 years in Ohio, she moved back to El Paso,
where she worked at a library at Ft. Bliss. In
1964, she started working for the Hotel Dieu
School of Nursing, where she invented a
classification system that was adopted by the
National Library of Medicine Classification
System. A tireless advocate for libraries
throughout El Paso, Ms. Moreno became the first
Hispanic woman to receive the "Librarian of the
Year Award" from the Border Regional Library
Association. She received the award again in
2000. She also was presented with the
"Distinguished Achievement Award for Service to
Students from UTEP" in 1992. She also served as a
mentor to many librarians who currently serve
the El Paso community.
Ms. Moreno was very active with the League of
Women Voters and was instrumental in translating
their voters guide to Spanish to encourage
participation from the Hispanic community. Ms.
Moreno passed away in 2000 but her legacy lives
on in the lives of the countless people that she
touched during her 42 years of service to the El
Paso community and as the namesake of a library
that will continue to bring hope and inspiration
to thousands. |
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