Life Lessons from the Library Lady

The last two months have been a wonderfully busy time in the life of yours truly. For this blog post, I'd like to focus on updating yinz on my service with Keys Service Corps.

I am a little more than halfway done with my term of service at the Carnegie Library of Homestead (CLoH). I'd say my focus at CLoH over the last two months has shifted from assimilation to programming and disciplining. In January we overhauled our youth services programming. We now run programs for youth every evening. I run the Teen Reading Circle on Monday evenings, Kid's Corner every other Thursday evening, and Family Story time on Saturday afternoons. Since I serve in a library, and my academic background is in the humanities, I wanted all of my programs to promote literacy. Lately, the kids have taken to calling me "Library Lady" because I'm always reading to them, or encouraging them to read.

Kid's Corner: St. Paddy's Day Scavenger Hunt 2013

The library also does a far bit of community outreach programs. The first weekend in March, the CLoH hosted the 40th Annual Chess Tournament. We had about thirty K-8th graders from all around the city participate. Due to circumstances outside of my control, I ended up in charge of the event. I'd never played chess before, let alone learned how to keep score. Needless to say, I learned a lot from this experience. I learned that I am capable of supervising, delegating, and multi-tasking. I also learned that I will not crack under pressure, something I struggled with before the tournament. 

Kindergarten Chess Players

I'd say that my biggest challenge at the library is enforcing the library's discipline policy. I've learned that the teens and children I serve and I are not on the same page as far as what is and is not acceptable library behavior. When I correct teens for shouting, and little kids for running, they look at me like I'm speaking a foreign language. Also, many of the youth I serve see fighting as an acceptable way to resolve any conflict. The library does not tolerate any kind of fighting, and it's my job to enforce this policy. Even though the kids don't see it as a big deal, I want to teach the kids better ways to resolve conflict. 

Inevitably, situations arise where the library staff and I cannot handle a particular situation, and we must get the local police involved. I do not enjoy calling the police because the kids lose respect for me, but I have to value the safety of the library over being liked by the kids. Theft, vandalism,  and certain fighting situations threaten everyone's safety. And my job is to provide a safe, educational environment for youth after school.

To wrap up this post, I'll share a little bit with you about AmeriCorps Week. AmeriCorps Week was March 10-March 16. As an AmeriCorps member (Keys Service Corps is a branch of AmeriCorps), I was participated in a service project during the week. My group's service project was to clean the Carnegie Library of Braddock in preparation for its Historical Landmark inauguration.

The Carnegie Library of Braddock was built in 1889. It was the first library Andrew Carnegie built in the world. During it's glory, the library hosted a library, a gym, a music hall, a bowling alley, a pool, and a public bathhouse.  Unfortunately, due to de-industrialization, suburbinization, and white flight, the once booming steel town of Braddock, PA exists as a shell of it's former self. There are really cool things happening as the town re-builds, but lasting change takes time. I think the library is a great example of resilience in the face of adversity. 

I spent my service project cleaning windows. Now these were not just ordinary windows. They were six feet tall windows situated four feet off the ground. My tall height does not preclude me from a fear of heights. Yet I spent the day balancing on a rickety ladder attacking grimy windows with ammonia. That's what I love about serving with Keys. Everyday I'm thrust into uncomfortable situations that show me what I'm made of. I'm making a difference not just in the lives of the youth that I serve, but also in my own.