"I've been very impressed with the way Decibel has been very hyperlocal."

Mary Stewart Miller is the Del Valle Libraries Community Outreach Librarian. She works to ensure that branches of the East Travis Gateway Library District are engaged with the community. As the area's new and sole Outreach Librarian, Mary Stewart is on a mission to make rewarding community connections and let Del Valle citizens know about the library services that are available to them. She researched ways to engage the greater Del Valle area by way of Austin PBS’s community-led journalism initiative, Decibel.

“Decibel has been doing a lot of the groundwork in Del Valle so I’m just going to inform myself,” said Mary Stewart.

Since April of 2021, Decibel has focused on the greater Del Valle area, creating over 30 in-depth stories on issues of importance specific to this community. “They were so informative and they gave me a lot of good ideas,” said Mary Stewart.

One idea came to Mary Stewart while watching a year end wrap up piece where reporter, Joe Rocha, shared his favorite story about Cottonwood Baptist Church and their meal delivery service. “If we’re going and bringing them a meal, can we also bring them some library services?” Mary Stewart decided to contact Reverend Jackson at the Cottonwood Baptist Church to explore the possibility of this partnership further.

“He very kindly invited me to come along with them on Tuesday when they do their meal delivery,” she said. “What’s been really interesting about that experience is I realized it was as much about developing relationships between myself representing the library staff and the community at the Cottonwood Baptist Church.”

Mary Stewart was able to learn that by strengthening relationships in her community she was also able to build trust between the library and residents in Del Valle. “If I can hear what they need and they can know what the library can provide, then maybe we can get some things going.” Mary Stewart Miller is living proof of the impact Austin PBS can have when community issues are amplified through stories and lived experiences of everyday people in Central Texas. And she recognizes how important Decibel’s news reporting is for making connections in your own community.

“It’s that sort of very small, yet incremental forward steps in community connection which has been really kind of wonderful to experience and that Decibel has helped us with.”