KARLA ALVAREZ CURRENT POSITION Community Programs Administrator, Equity & Inclusion Services, San José Public Library CA DEGREE MA, International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame, 2013 FOLLOW linkedin.com/in/kealvarez Photo courtesy of Karla Alvarez

Disrupting Silos

Karla Alvarez has come full circle. While in high school, she got her first job at the San José Public Library (SJPL) as an after-school tutor. Today, after more than 15 years spent traveling to work in conflict studies and community building—a journey that included Mexico, Belize, Kenya, the Philippines, and more—the San José native is back at the city’s library system as Community Programs Administrator, Equity & Inclusion Services.

Throughout, she has focused on eliminating barriers and strengthening access to services. Arriving at SJPL just before the pandemic, she found there was already momentum in the library’s work to expand outreach. Alvarez has devoted her efforts to consolidating and growing those initiatives, including assembling a team of staff dedicated to programming and materials for the LGBTQIA+ community (staff may identify as LGBTQIA+ or as allies), overseeing the development of a Racial Equity Action Plan, providing greater access for people with disabilities, and supporting housing-insecure individuals—the latter an issue that tends to intersect with the others, she observes. 

Alvarez also developed and facilitated an ad hoc committee to draft equity, diversity, and inclusion quality standards for all city-sponsored programs, which were adopted by the San José City Council in February 2022.  

Her work in building community is just beginning. “There’s a lot of coordination and communication necessary to make sure we’re continuously disrupting silos,” she says. But, she adds, the library is ready. “Every single person [I work with] has mastered their craft. I’m just making sure we’re sticking to our rhythm.”