The Wheel of the Year: Creating a 12-Month Programming Plan. This assignment demonstrates the ability to create a year of programming for a children’s and family services department at a public library. The programs are designed to serve a diverse community, inspire curiosity, and a love of reading. Each program implements component of literacy skills using practices that encourage families to help their children become lifelong learners. Programs will range from infants to tweens, with activities geared at their developmental stages. The goal is to build a community with the library as a central hub of discovery, safety and learning while having fun.

Raamses Castillo is from the Inland Empire in Southern California. He received his Bachelor’s in Sociology from California State University, Fullerton, and has worked in both social work and educational fields. He has taken both these experiences and implemented it into his library work. For the past 7 years Raamses has served his community by creating programs for families that offer opportunities to learn while having fun. Using both literacy and STEAM themes families have been able to enjoy storytimes and crafts that foster a love of reading. This experience working at the library has led him to pursue his Masters in Information and Library Science at SJSU with the eventual goal of becoming a Children’s and Family Services Programming Library Coordinator.

When not working in the library, Raamses enjoys playing videogames, watching movies with his wife, and playing with his dog, Marvel. He has a love of his culture and uses that as inspiration to learn more about its history, traditions, and culture while traveling. One of his goals is to write and publish a children’s book that storytellers will use as a read-aloud in their programs. He is excited to continue learning and watching the library grow and serve communities in new ways. He wishes everyone the best in their future as library and information professionals.