The History of the Jane Stern Dorado Community Library

When Jane Stern moved from New York City to the tropical island of Puerto Rico in 1963, she was already an established community activist. Her social activism continued in Puerto Rico, and after being instrumental in founding the Mayagüez and Ponce League of Women Voters, Jane set her sights on creating the first community library in the territory. On February 4, 1974, the Jane Stern Dorado Community Library (JSDCL) opened to the public, established by Stern and 19 other families in Dorado who wanted to offer their community a place to read, learn, and interact. A class room at a local school served as its "cradle" with a collection of only one hundred books and a schedule of two hours, two days a week, in the small town of Dorado. In a very short time its membership grew from 19 to 200.

The JSDCL operates as its own entity and is an outstanding example of what can be accomplished when responsibilities are shared with the community, the private sector, and the government, both state and municipal. Goals set forth by the library include engaging the population in activities and services, matching resources to users, offering education and training, and providing diverse materials for the community’s education and enjoyment.

The JSDCL strives to engage the population in activities and services, match resources to users, offer education and training, and provide diverse materials for the community’s education and enjoyment. To engage local youth in reading and other activities at the library, JSDCL offers the Story Hour Program. The initiative, which invites authors and special guests to read books to the participants, draws groups of at least 60 children to the library each week from private and public elementary schools, and includes clowns and other live entertainment as part of the program. Summer workshops for kids include classes on art, photography, Tae Kwon Do, and the importance of ethical behavior. In addition to programs for the school-aged population of Dorado, the library reaches out to senior citizens in the community through a variety of initiatives, including yoga and computer literacy courses.

While the library does a great deal to strengthen the community that it directly serves, it has also been the strongest proponent for the creation of community libraries throughout the island of Puerto Rico. In 1987, after the neighboring city of San Juan had seen all of the good work done by JSDCL, the library was asked to help institute a community library in San Juan. The San Juan Rotary Club and the Jane Stern Dorado Community Library created a formal partnership called "Libraries for Literacy" to establish community libraries throughout Puerto Rico. As of 2007, seven new community libraries have been built, courtesy of "Libraries for Literacy".

Founded as the only community library in Puerto Rico as a bilingual and bi cultural institution just 34 years ago, with just 100 books and 19 members to its name, the Jane Stern Dorado Community Library has become the heart of its community, connecting people—young and old—to books, programming, and one another. As the Town of Dorado becomes a significant suburb of San Juan with an increase of full time residents, the needs of the Library are being addressed with modernization of services offered to all the residents of the Communities of Dorado.

Most recently the Jane Stern Dorado Community Library won a unique and most special recognition from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The Library was one of five libraries selected nationally to receive a medal presented by Laura Bush in Washington, D.C.,Tuesday, October 7, 2008.