Hello! I'm Ruth Jinkiri. I'm the Disability Support Coordinator at the Mississippi Library Commission (MLC). I knew I wanted to become a librarian when I was a young girl in elementary school. My uncle was a librarian and would bring books and things home with him and tell us all about them. I wanted to be just like him, but it has been a very long journey.
I had been teaching in an elementary school in Nigeria for several years when I moved to Mississippi with my family. In order to teach in America, I needed to pass the Praxis, but I found it incredibly difficult. Even though I tried the test several times, I kept failing it by just a few points. It was so frustrating that I eventually gave up and settled into working at a daycare for people with disabilities called Willowood Development Center. They had a lot of inclusive programs that I thought were great, like bringing in senior citizens to interact with the kids. I loved seeing the human connections old and young made together.
I left Willowood to work in the Resource Library at the Mississippi Department of Health. The library served all sorts of people who worked with people with disabilities: parents, teachers, caregivers, you name it. I also started attending school in America for the first time; I studied hard and got my Bachelors in Interdisciplinary Studies with an emphasis in Business and my Masters in Education Technology at Jackson State University. The powers-that-be decided to close the library after I'd been working there for about five years. They offered to find me another position in the Department of Health, but my heart was solidly in the library camp.
Jackson/Hinds Library System was planning to open an Autism Resource Center (ARC) at their headquarters, the former Eudora Welty Library. It was a perfect fit for me. I helped them open the ARC about a month after I started. I also went back to school again, this time to the University of Southern Mississippi, to get my Masters in Library and Information Science. While I worked at the ARC, I also became a Certified Autism Specialist with IBCCES. I found that working with this population had become very rewarding for me. After another five or so years, I moved to the Willie Morris Library to be their Branch Manager, all while continuing the ARC. Many libraries sent their staff to see what we were doing here in Jackson and more ARCs began opening in the region. My future boss at MLC, Hulen Bivins, even sent staff from his library in Spring Hill, Tennessee! Unfortunately, after I'd been at Morris for about a year, library leadership decided they wanted to move the ARC in a different direction.
I was accepted at MLC in one of their Library Consultant positions. I was excited about the potential to see what librarians across Mississippi were doing at their libraries. I appreciated all of their hard work and innovation; they do a fantastic job with little resources. I found that I was giving a lot of advice about interacting with people who had autism and other disabilities. The librarians wanted to be able to provide better service and learn better skills for communicating and connecting with their patrons.
After a while, MLC decided that there was a big enough need in the state to open a position centered around this goal. I love the groups that come in and visit and learn. Some of them Zoom with me weekly and others send me photos of their lives. Gaining their trust is such a huge thing for me. Over the years I've built my own collection of accessibility and educational tools to help me do my job. My children even give me Christmas presents that are related to my work; they know that's what I really want. I can't imagine doing anything else!
We also hold a monthly support group on the last Saturday of every month from 1-2 p.m. at MLC in our large meeting room. Caregivers vote on topics they want to learn about and we invite someone from the community to talk on these subjects. For example, a representative from the Mississippi Museum of Art came to talk our group after one of our members became overwhelmed with one of their classes. A swimming instructor for those with disabilities spoke to our group after the nearby drowning of a child with autism sparked concern. I try to do whatever I can to help everyone learn how to live their lives to the fullest, and that's what being a librarian is all about.
Ruth Jinkiri
Disability Support Coordinator
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