Smith
I didn’t have a library to visit growing up except at my school, and you can bet I read every single book available to me in that library — well, not “Gulliver’s Travels.” I tried, but it was just far too boring.
Once I’d finished all of those books, including the ones from the forbidden back shelf which you had to get permission from your parents to read, I’d get a bus pass to visit the high school library and check out books from there.
Books were my safe space. I could read a book whether I was visiting my dad in an unfamiliar state, camping with my grandparents and annoying little cousin, being forced to watch some sort of sports-ball game, had just finished taking an anxiety-inducing math test, or sitting in my mom’s office while she worked.
And in the books that I read, I could escape off into a world of adventure. I could be someone new, someone stronger, braver, and more confident. I could learn about the world, history and languages, fantastical lands and magic.
When I decided to go to library school, that was the reason. I loved books. Books had saved me, had given me the chance to take on big adventures when I was stuck in a small town. All I knew was I wanted to share that love with others.
So I took a leap, applied to get my masters degree, and moved to the big city as soon as I finished my undergraduate degree. I had no plans. I knew very little about libraries, how they worked, or what I was getting myself into — a fact that became obvious when I attended my first class, Materials for Youth, and they started talking about summer reading programs.
I had never participated or even heard of a summer reading program, but it seemed I was the only one. In fact, most of the people in my classes were older and already working and established in libraries. I was behind from the get-go and overwhelmed by the time my professor handed out the class syllabus.
On the syllabus was a list of youth books for a variety of ages that we would be reading and talking about throughout the course. On the list were books that I recognized, books that had made an impact on my life. And as I read the list of books and realized how much of a difference some of them had made, I knew at that moment what I wanted to do.
Twelve years later, as I’m sitting at my desk in TeenHQ at Greenwood Public Library as the teen specialist reflecting on my career, I’m proud to say that I made it. I’m surrounded by books that I love to share with all of the patrons that come in. And what I love the most is finding the right book for a teen that is looking for an escape.
I’m here for them to be a safe person to talk to if they need it, and offer some learned advice — help them make good life choices on occasion, but I’m also here to help them discover that books can make all the difference in your life. They made me who I am.
Jessica Smith is the Teen Specialist at Greenwood Public Library. GPL staff members share in writing this twice-monthly column for the Daily Journal. Send comments to [email protected].
