CURRENT POSITION Manager of Educator Development, New York Public Library DEGREE MA, Cultural Studies in Education, University of Texas at Austin, 2016 FOLLOW nypl.org/spotlight/pride/educators; nypl.org/spotlight/educators-summer-residency Photo by William Neumann Photography

Teaching Community

Libraries and education are a natural fit, and Arturo Agüero enhances educators’ connections to library resources and empowers them to teach in new ways. A founding member of the New York Public Library’s (NYPL) Center for Educators and Schools, in 2021 Agüero became the first Manager of Educator Development. 

According to Agüero, his work makes “library resources accessible and useful to educators”—that includes everything from the circulating lending book collections to manuscripts, archives, and special collections. He creates educational programs utilizing NYPL’s vast resources, including the iconic midtown library spaces and the expertise of his fellow librarians and curators. In addition to continuing education–style programs, Agüero prioritizes inviting teachers to the library, whether for a trivia night or an after-hours teacher comedy night. These events are “a reminder that the library is always open,” he says, and should “remind them that the books and the space are for them.” 

His outreach has also included “Reading with Pride: Resources for Educators,” a collection of scholarly essays, book recommendations, and teaching tools centered on historic and contemporary queer picture books. Agüero, whose own background is in early childhood education, encourages educators to explore picture books as historical objects—sparking discussions about how these books reflect society. 

In creating “a community of teachers, that love teaching...creatively, with new and exciting books, with primary documents, and with each other,” Agüero’s work reaches beyond his local community. One of his flagship programs is the Educator Summer Residency, gathering educators from across the country for an interdisciplinary week working with NYPL’s renowned research materials. The residency, now in its third year, centers on a theme—2025 will discuss “Mother Tongues” and incorporate teaching from linguists, bilingual education scholars, and more. 

As an educator himself, Agüero says that “literacy” is a core concept informing his work—“meaning both learning to read and also reading to learn,” as well as different types of literacy, from visual to media. He approaches professional development to “engage learners where they’re at,” he says, and makes strategic choices in recommending books, manuscripts, and skills. He also positions texts as just one way to communicate a story or idea—educators who join his programming engage with library materials in a variety of ways, whether it is reading, crafting, or other creative work.