Mattawa librarian started from nowhere

MATTATA - Josie Toscano was not a librarian and had no intentions of being one when the position at the Mattawa Public Library was suggested.

Nine years later, Tocasno runs a library on which lots of folks depend. It's open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. It's located across Government Street from Harvest Foods.

"I went to a Friends of the Library meeting," she recalled. "We had a meeting, but we had no library, and we had no books. I love books. I love reading. So I went."

Friends of the Library had to start from scratch. Several suggested Toscano go for librarian. Her greatest asset was her bilingual capability.

"I had been here a long time," she said. "I could speak both languages."

But Toscano wasn't as sure as the other Friends. Her work experience did not, even remotely, resemble library work.

"I've done every single job in the book," she said. "Meat cutter, cake decorator, nurse assistant, parapro. I was taking time off to raise goats and my kids."

But, being a fan of books, Toscano threw her name into the pool of applicants and waited to be turned away.

"I didn't know the Dewey Decimal System," she said. "I'd heard of it, but I didn't know how it worked. The only thing I had going was that I love books."

During the interview process, Toscano took a general library knowledge test and did well on everything except the Dewey Decimal System.

Another immediate need nine years ago, of course, was a building. It was found among a housing project of innovative construction. While the exteriors of the walls are stucco-like, the interiors are straw bales.

When Toscano was hired, she was told she would work about 20 hours a week. Within a year, she was up to 30 hours. Now she has a paid substitute for when she needs to be away .

The Mattawa Public Library is not big. The building was intended to be a home. However, as one of the 27 branches of the North Central Regional Libraries, it has access to countless volumes.

"We rotate books every Monday," Toscano said. "If I have a book that's not being checked out, I replace it."

Toscano noted non-fiction books receive the most attention. The rest of the top five is children's books, books in Spanish, adult fiction and large print books.

"A lot of people use our (three) computers to do research and to write resumes and college applications," she said. "We keep them updated."

Another group that takes advantage of the Library, Toscano said, is home school parents. They check out materials for their children to use.