Lampman Award Recipient 2023:  Rocío Espinoza-Cotero

Congratulations to Rocío Espinoza-Cotero, our 2023 Evelyn Sibley Lampman Award recipient for her significant contribution to the children of Oregon as a librarian. The Evelyn Sibley Lampman Award is presented annually by the Children's Services Division and is given in memory of Evelyn Sibley Lampman (1907-1980), noted Oregon teacher, journalist, and author of children’s books.

“Maestra, I really enjoy when the library is here.”

Rocío Espinoza-Cotero is the Library Outreach Coordinator at Hillsboro Public Library. She previously worked at HPL as the Libros (Spanish Outreach) Coordinator. Before joining the HPL team she held several other jobs serving the young people of Oregon, including more than one library in Washington County, Portland Public Schools, and Centro Cultural. 

Rocío’s career and dedication run deep, bridging together arts, culture and theater, always with a people-centered focus. Her passion is most notably directed at serving families and children, sharing information in both Spanish and English, and breaking down barriers to access to library resources. She is amazing in her ability to connect with kids of all ages. Rocío represents the “best” of what it is to be a librarian: Her love of the community and her dedication to inclusion, empathy and equity are hallmarks of how she presents to the world.
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“My daughter has your Outreach calendar on her room, to see where you are going to be next.”

“We were driving by and my son spot[ted] the van. That's the library van!”

“This is the first time we [have] come here, just because we saw on the [Library on the] Loose calendar that you were going to be here.”

“She’s a superwoman!”

During the first summer of the pandemic, Rocío and her Library van (known as Library on the Loose) in large part, were the community connection/face of the Hillsboro libraries. She literally brought the Summer Reading Program to the streets! She organized a team to visit parks, migrant camps, and lunch sites to give kids free books, read stories, sing songs, and do crafts - all while following COVID safety measures to keep patrons (and staff) safe. Since Rocío started her Library on the Loose Summer Reading campaign, participation in Summer Reading increased: 2020 saw a 14.6% increase in participation, 2021 increased by 25.6%, and 2022 by 19%. In 2022 she led around 150 programs with on average 150 people in attendance. Rocío regularly partners with arts, culture and recreation organizations, other city departments, WIC, local apartments, shelters, juvenile justice organizations, and the school district, among many other groups.

“We had a Day of the Dead outreach event at a low-income apartment complex in Hillsboro. We drove into the parking lot with no families in sight, so Rocío jumped right on it, and we knocked on every door and invited them to our event…. Slowly, but surely families trickled in…. I…hear[d] kids say, “this is fun” and ‘que divertido’ as the night went on.”

“Rocío was a significant bridge to the Hispanic community for [Cornelius Public Library]. Her stellar reputation in the community from her previous work with Centro Cultural… increased the library’s visibility and credibility in the community. Additionally, we used her arts background to enrich our programming…. I would be remiss not to mention that her ever present upbeat demeanor and desire to provide the best possible service made her a gem for us at the front counter.“

Congratulations ​Rocío Espinoza-Cotero!

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Check out our blog post celebrating Rocío!

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2023 Lampman Committee Members

Holly Campbell-Polivka (chair), Tigard Public Library
Jennifer Fischer, Crook County Library 
Darcy Smith, Lebanon Public Library 
Amanda Lamb, Newberg Public Library 
Deborah VanDetta, Estacada Public Library 
Susan Cackler (Immediate past CSD chair), Banks Public Library