[5] But, in 1920, Belpré interrupted her studies to attend her sister Elisa's wedding in New York City, where she was recruited by a public library effort to hire young women from ethnically diverse backgrounds.

[5] This first job led to a remarkable career that had Belpré travel the city, from the Bronx to the Lower East Side, telling stories in both English and Spanish, something that hadn't been done before.

[1] However, like many of the Puerto Rican women who migrated to New York in the twentieth century, Belpré's first job was in the garment industry.

[3] In 1929, due to the increasing numbers of Puerto Ricans settling in southwest Harlem, Belpré was transferred to a branch of the NYPL at 115th Street.

She quickly became an active advocate for the Spanish-speaking community by instituting bilingual story hours, buying Spanish language books, and implementing programs based on traditional holidays like the celebration of Three Kings Day.

In her outreach efforts, she attended meetings of civic organizations such as the Puerto Rican Brotherhood of America and La Liga Puertorriqueña e Hispana.

A documentary film about the life and work of Pura Belpré was produced in 2011, and is available for viewing at the Centro de Estudios Puertorriqueños at Hunter College.

They are valuable for examining relationships between the Puerto Rican community and a major institution such as the New York Public Library.