Digging for Words: José Alberto Gutiérrez and the Library He Built

This fictionalized story is based on José Alberto Gutiérrez, a Bogotá garbage collector who gathered discarded books and opened a neighborhood library. A boy named José eagerly waits for his regular visits to Señor José’s library. The story shows the collector’s work and the neighborhood’s limited access to libraries despite the city’s large population. An author’s note provides further information and photographs of the real Gutiérrez.