CURRENT POSITION Community Engagement Specialist, Missoula Public Library, MT DEGREE BA, Liberal Studies, Montana State University FAST FACT Avila loves hiking, hot springs, and planning her next road trip, and will turn anything into a dance party. FOLLOW missoulapubliclibrary.org Photo by Amanda Allpress

Metal Shows to Sloppy Joes

Starting off as a library assistant in circulation at Missoula Public Library (MPL), Selya Avila jumped at the chance to take on a new role that aligned with her values when MPL’s director created the Community Engagement Department. 

In this role, Avila is responsible for coordinating Project Community Connect (PCC), an annual one-stop shop that brings community organizations together in a safe environment to provide services and hospitality to people at risk of becoming unhoused, experiencing homelessness, or resource-insecure. It had been on hold since 2020 until MPL took over operations last year. PCC 2024 convened 70+ providers, welcomed 400 attendees, and served 300 sloppy joes at the library. Visitors received free haircuts, dental/medical care, pet licenses, vaccines, veteran employment and benefits assistance, and more. Given the appreciation and ongoing needs of attendees, Avila organized a monthly Resource Access Day—a mini-PCC—with the Missoula Municipal Court and the Pretrial Assistance to Support Success program. “The library is a beacon: a rare space that exists outside of capitalism, and a beautiful example of a gift economy,” she says. 

In 2023 Avila organized an all-ages concert at the library to benefit the Free Verse Writing Project, a nonprofit that brings arts- and humanities-based programming to justice-involved youth and youth in psychiatric care. The Metal Show concert featured local bands, art- and button- making, an exquisite corpse writing exercise, and more. Admission was free, but donations were welcome, and the nonprofit raised $550. The Montana Library Association named the event Library Program of the Year; Avila now sits on Free Verse’s board of directors. “The events I coordinate are a direct result of showing up consistently to listen, build trust, and form relationships,” says Avila— “and also having library leadership that trusts me to put ideas into action.”