Missouri Library Association--Featured Membe

Sarah Bean Thompson: Youth Services Manager,
Springfield-Greene County Library District

1. Please tell us a little bit about yourself:

My name is Sarah Bean Thompson and I'm the Youth Services Manager at The Library Center in Springfield MO. I oversee both the children’s and teen departments of the library and I have a great staff that supports youth services and provides wonderful programs for kids and teens. I help out with toddler storytime, some teen programs, and my passion is reader's advisory. I’ve been the youth services manager for just a few months (I started in May). Previously I was the Young Adult Librarian at The Library Center for three years. I also worked in children’s for a year before that. I graduated from the University of North Texas with my Master's in Library Science and my undergrad is in Communications/Radio from Olivet Nazarene University. I wanted to be a radio deejay, then in music business during college. I’m not sure how exactly my path to librarianship came about. After college I came across the ALA’s site called “So You Want To Be A Librarian?” I read the site and thought “this sounds perfect-why didn’t I think of this before?” So when I moved to Springfield in 2006, I immediately applied at the library and was hired to work in the children’s department. Being a librarian is my dream job and it fits me so perfectly. In fact, my first word was “book” so I think I knew I was meant to be a librarian even as a child! I’m a member of ALA, ALSC and YALSA in addition to MLA. I just finished a term on the Gateway Committee for MASL. I’m currently serving on my second term for YALSA’s Fabulous Films for Young Adults Committee and will start a term on the 2013 Printz Committee in January.

2. What do you like most about being a Youth Manager and what are the biggest challenges in your job?

I love working with kids and teens. I love reading children’s and YA lit and helping a reader find the next book they’re going to love. I also love seeing the kids and teens come in and build a relationship with the library and the librarians. I get to gush over Harry Potter and geek out to Wizard Rock bands, or read comics and then suggest them to a reader who is looking for a book like Wimpy Kid, or dress up in a prom dress for a Masquerade Ball. Every day I’m amazed at the stuff I get to do-and get to call it work! The biggest challenge I face is marketing to kids and teens. We serve a busy population and I think very often the library gets overlooked for programs, especially once they’re tweens and teens. They think of us for storytime and that’s it-and we have so much more to offer! Finding the right time to reach busy kids so that they can come to a program or event at the library can be hard. Also, we’re in a location that is very dependent on transportation, so we have to take that into consideration when planning programs. Will the kids be able to get here? Will this be something parents would be willing to drive them to? We have to compete with so much else going on in their lives and we always have to market what the library has to offer.

3. Tell us about your blog (GreenBeanTeenQueen): How did it start, why do you do it, and what kind of response are you getting?

I started my blog in 2008, but didn’t really start consistently writing on it until 2009. I started the blog because I wanted to review books I was reading and have a place to keep track of everything I’d read. It was also a great place to compile a bunch of books for booktalks. I’d seen other blogs and thought “I could do that!” so I did. I never imagined the response I would get. I have around 1500 followers which amazes me. I never thought people would actually read my blog and I’m still surprised when they do. I get recognized at ALA conferences and at other libraries because of my blog, which is always surprising and makes me laugh a little that people even know who I am-I mean, I’m just me, I’m not that cool! But the response to my blog has been overwhelming and continues to be. It’s been a wonderful way to connect with other readers, librarians, and authors. The blogging community is so fun to be part of it and I love connecting with other readers who are passionate about the same things you are.

3. If you were to hire a Children's or YA Librarian what skills and/or qualities would you look for in a candidate?

First off, I would look for someone who is passionate and excited about children’s and YA services in the library. I also would look for someone who knows children’s & YA lit and keeps up with it-what are they reading? What books would they recommend for various ages and genres? Reader’s advisory is such an important part of youth services and I think it’s important that if you work with that age group, you need to keep up with the literature. I would also ask about their ideas for programs as programming is another key part of youth services. You want someone who is creative and flexible with programs.

It’s important for networking and meeting other librarians who are doing what you do. Librarians can’t function alone-we need support from others and it is so important to have that support from other librarians who you can bounce ideas off of and gain new ones. I love meeting other librarians who share my passion for youth services and who don't think you're crazy for the books you read or the programs you plan. Those connections are invaluable!

5 Questions for “MLA’s Featured Librarian”:
Julie Schwartz - Children’s & Reference Librarian

Q: First, please tell us a little bit about yourself: Name, employment & current responsibilities, education, etc.:

A: My name is Julie Schwartz, I'm a Children's/Reference Librarian at the Deer Run Branch of the St.Charles City-County Library District. Ihave a BA in English from St. Louis University and an MLS from the University of Missouri. The Deer Run Branch is our outreach branch, so the children's department (me and two fantastic parapros) does outreach visits to preschools and daycares county-wide. We also have a full-slate of in-branch children's programming for kids from infancy to 5th grade. I personally take care of our 2-year-old story times and school-age programming. Beyond that, I take care of all of the other fun stuff that children's librarians the world over get to do; of which weeding is a particular favorite. Since I work at a smaller "general purpose" branch, where the reference desk is both children's and adult, I get to answer questions about car repair and legal forms in between science fair and Magic Tree House requests, which makes life extra interesting.

I started out in the library world at Kirkwood Public Library as a part-time Children's Library Assistant. I was very fortunate there to work with supportive librarians who allowed me to get a taste of being a "real" children's librarian, including doing programming for all ages, purchasing, weeding, outreach and much, much more. I worked part-time at KPL from 2002 to 2007 and in that time earned my MLS from Mizzou. While still in library school I was appointed to the Caldecott Committee by then-ALSC president Gretchen Wronka of Hennepin County PL, who randomly called to interview me when writing an article about new ALSC members. I felt like I won the lottery! My year on the Caldecott Committee was incredibly rewarding, both personally and professionally. The winning illustrator that year (2006) was Chris Raschka, for "The Hello, Goodbye Window" written by Norton Juster. One of my favorite parts was getting daily visits from the UPS man, bringing me boxes and boxes and boxes of lovely new books to read.

After obtaining my degree, I worked for a year as the Regional Youth Services Librarian at the Carpenter Branch of the St. Louis Public Library, another rewarding experience with a great group of people. From there I moved to my current job in July 2008.

I am a member of ALA, ALSC and MLA. I am currently the Selection Chair of the Missouri Building Block Committee and will be moving on up to Awards Chair in the fall.

Q1: When did you decide that you wanted to be a librarian / children's librarian?

A1: Well, I should have figured it out much earlier than I did. I was always a voracious reader and have always, even as a child loved reading aloud to others. I have fond memories of reading Roald Dahl books to my little brother on lazy Saturday mornings. I never really outgrew children's books. I was still re-reading Betsy-Tacy and Ramona books well into middle and high school. I discovered Jon Scieszka's "The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales" as a teenager and that renewed my love (passion?) for picture books. However, it took being down-sized from a mind-numbing job proofreading medical journals, and some prodding from a high school friend who was in library school before I finally realized that I was a children's librarian, and that I might as well make it official.

Q2: What do you like most about being a Children's librarian?

A2: Oh, there are so many things I love about being a Children's Librarian. I think my favorite part is programming--both in the library and out. I love reading stories, telling stories, singing songs, and getting kids of all ages excited about books.

Q3: What do you think are the biggest challenges in working in a Public Library or working as a Children's Librarian?

A3: The part of my job that I've always had the most trouble with is when I encounter those kids who are falling, or in danger of falling, through the cracks. Sometimes these are the toddlers whose parents let them roam the library free while they're on Facebook, or lonely tweens who show up to stay all day without a lunch, or the teen-aged dropouts who come to the library instead of going to school. I've encountered versions of these kids at every library I've worked at, and it never gets easier. I sometimes wonder if I need to go back to school for a social work degree.

Q4: If you were to hire a Children's Librarian what skills and/or qualities would you look for in a candidate?

A4: Here's what comes to mind first: creativity, enthusiasm, energy, storytelling ability, the ability to multi-task, and patience, patience, patience to start. Another incredibly important skill a children's librarian absolutely must have is flexibility. You have to be able to improvise and think quickly on your feet, for the many occasions when things don't go as planned...when your paid performer doesn't show up, when a bus-full of preschool kids show up on the wrong day, or simply when the average age of kids that show up for your program is 4 years younger than what you planned. The show must always go on!

A5: I'm a member of the Missouri Library Association because I think it's crucial to not lose sight of the fact that that we're not in our own little library bubble--there are people across the state and across the country that are running into the same problems, planning the same kinds of programs, etc. Why not pool our resources? Being a member of the Building Block committee and going to conferences and trainings are great ways to do that.

Tracy Stout: Missouri Millennial Librarian and
Future Face of the Missouri Library Association

After attending a panel session of contributed papers about Millennial Librarians at the 2011 Annual Conference of the American College & Research Libraries (ACRL) in Philadelphia in April, I went on a search to find an archetypical Missouri Millennial Librarian. I wanted to know if that person would express similar perspectives as those attributed to Millennial Librarians that were discussed during the ACRL Contribute Papers panel session. In particular, I was looking for a Missouri Millennial Librarian who was a member of the Missouri Library Association (MLA), and willing to share insights into what Missouri Millennial Librarians might uniquely contribute to the librarian profession in the state of Missouri.

I quickly found a representative Millennial Librarian and MLA member at the academic institution where I am employed, Missouri State University (MSU) in Springfield. Her name is Tracy Stout. In the spirit of full disclosure, I’ll report that I’m a “Baby Boomer” librarian who made a mid-life career change and moved from Indiana to Missouri about four years ago. Tracy is a native Missourian from Ava, who has part Cherokee tribal heritage. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in psychology from the College of the Ozarks, a Master’s Degree in industrial/organizational psychology from Missouri State University, and a Master’s Degree in Library Science from the University of Arizona in Tucson. Tracy currently holds the position of Assistant Professor, Reference and Instruction Librarian at Missouri State University, Meyer Library, where she started in January 2008.

Tracy is a three years veteran member of MLA. She said, “I joined MLA so I can stay up-to-date with what’s going on in the region and with state issues. Librarians on the east coast can have completely different experiences from here in the Midwest.” She enjoys the “local networking,” and has found that when she attends national American Library Association (ALA) conferences that MLA often has gatherings there for MLA members. Tracy said she’s attended several MLA Fall Conferences. And, one of her favorite memories of MLA conferences was when she stood in a long line to get an autographed action figure from librarian and author Nancy Pearl, only to find that the last action figure was given away to the person in line immediately in front of her. Tracy lamented that she missed out on getting an autographed doll, but she asked Nancy Peal to join her in a photograph that was taken, and she was happy to receive that instead.

Tracy is also actively involved in ALA. She is a member of the ALA, ACRL Division and the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) of ALA. She is presently chairperson for the New Members Round-Table (NMRT), Membership Pavilion Committee. In 2009, she was one of 107 librarians with less than five years of experience chosen nationwide to participate in ALA’s Emerging Leaders Program. This program enables newer librarians from across the country to participate in problem-solving working groups; to gain an inside look into ALA structure, and have an opportunity to serve the profession in a leadership capacity. Tracy is currently a part of ALA’s Discovering Librarianship Recruitment Program, an initiative to recruit ethnically diverse persons into the field of librarianship.

Tracy finds time for hobbies in addition to having an active professional life. These hobbies are reflected by the avatars that she has used in designing and maintaining more than a dozen subject LibGuides as part of her responsibilities for the MSU Meyer Library, Reference and Government Information Services Department. Her two hobbies are race car driving (in the semi-professional sport of drag car racing) and ballroom dancing. Tracy’s librarian responsibilities include answering reference questions at the reference desk, instructing in “one-shot” library presentations, serving as collaborator with faculty and students in Learning Communities, and teaching a one-credit information literacy course.

Tracy in her work life sees only “a slight difference” between herself and her older colleagues. As a “digital native” her natural inclination is to seek databases and internet websites or resources first, although regardless of age she says “a good librarian will know which resources to start with to find information.” At work, she can also be seen “multi-tasking” with three different databases open at the same time plus Goggle Scholar and maybe something else, as well.

Tracy is excited about the changes that she sees in the future for libraries. “Libraries will have to change with the changing technology…and I see this as opportunities.” According to Tracy, “Librarians can be at the forefront of the changes, which will give them opportunities to be more connected with students.” She said students still need librarians because “they are tech savvy, but they’re not always critical thinkers, and librarians can help them think critically about the information that they’re bombarded with all the time.”

In conclusion, I found Tracy to have many of the perspectives and traits of the Millennial Librarians that were a hot topic at the ACRL Conference. But Tracy has a uniqueness all her own, and she represents a future face of MLA.

submitted by Grace Jackson-Brown, Member, MLA Membership Committee,
Assistant Professor of Library Science at Missouri State University

Do you know of a library or library person deserving of some recognition?
MLA would like to showcase their achievements!
Send a short blurb and image(s) to the Membership Committee.

MLA Current Featured Member

MLA Past Featured Members