Paying it forward: Sol Gomez: Pima County Public Library.(Brief article)

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Sol Gomez was a construction worker when he entered the University of Arizona's (UA) Knowledge River program, which trains librarians to serve Hispanic and Native American communities. Now, as a branch manager at the Pima County Public Library (PCPL), his raw materials are young minds, and what they're building is a better future.

During his rise through PCPL, says Deputy Director Patrick Corella, Gomez built a "following of kids who participated, collaborated, and created games," showing their peers how to use library resources and computers to find information.

When Gomez took over a distance education program to train …