Under Raymond Santiagos Leadership Library System Strives To Provide Residents With More Than Just Books

When most people think of a library, they think of books. Here in Miami-Dade, think again. The county’s public library system is not just that but is so much more — a wide range of programs and services for residents of all ages, from pre-birth to the deathbed, as its director, Raymond Santiago, puts it.

It is that commitment to service that Mr. Santiago, 57, has made his priority since being appointed in 1998 to his role as the first Hispanic-American head of what has become one of the largest and most successful public library systems in the nation — a multimillion-dollar enterprise with a staff of 800 and a rapidly expanding number of facilities including innovative storefront library branches, Internet access and, the latest addition, a service in which reading materials are mailed to a borrower’s home.

Mr. Santiago detailed the system’s mission and operations in an interview with Miami Today international editor Michael Hayes. This is an excerpt from the weekly profile article published in Miami Today. To read the entire article in full, order this issue or subscribe to the print edition of Miami Today. Advertisement