When I started working at the Sioux Center Public Library in 2019, I did not have a full conception of everything that libraries could do. I grew up on a steady diet of Fancy Nancy, Angelina Ballerina, and The Rainbow magic fairies, then graduated to Laura Ingalls Wilder and Nancy Drew, sponsored and encouraged by our librarians. My 10th birthday gift was a library card, and I remember distinctly the pride I felt when I got to sign my name on that yellow form for the first time. As I grew into my teenage years, I spent hours in the young adult section browsing the latest Hunger Games or Divergent novels and reading every John Green novel I could get my hands on.
So, when I applied to become a librarian at 16, (my first job!) I already loved the library and was excited to help other people fall in love with reading the same way I had. Those five years ago I had no idea everything that the library does beyond books, nor how much more I would fall in love with the critical role libraries play in communities.
One of my first shifts after training, a Spanish-speaking patron came to the front desk and asked about taking English classes. I was in my second year of Spanish classes at Unity Christian High School. I had never spoken with a native Spanish-speaker before, but between the verbs quieres (want) and tienes (have), a lot of Spanglish and liberal use of Google Translate, we worked together to find him the information he needed.
A few weeks later, I became friends with the first of many I would refer to as “my library friends” a young Latina girl and her sister who often asked me to read stories to them on nights when it was quiet. They lived near the library, and I passed by them playing outside on my way to work. I learned their names and greeted them by name whenever we crossed paths, inside the library or out.
Soon my library friends expanded to include an elderly gentleman who without fail read the Saturday edition of the “Wall Street Journal,” a mom who used our computers to make a photo album for her son, and gaggle of Roblox playing teenagers. One of these boys taught me how to use a pop can and a quarter to mimic turkey calls, a skill that he regularly employed at the library until I had to remind him that this is a library, not one of his weekend hunting trips.
After six years at the library, I can safely say that our space is not just for booklovers but for EVERYONE. While books might bring people into a library, their reason for staying, or coming back, will slowly begin to revolve around the relationships they have with the staff, the space and the connections they make there.
I’ve met so many people I never would have become friends with if I didn’t work here, and done so many surprising tasks that I go home many days thinking “I never thought I would encounter that at a library.”
“I never thought I would encounter that” has been a bit of a throughline for the last few months of librarianship, as our building is under renovation. From nonchalant warnings about unprotected live wires, to us librarians getting to be part of the demolition, this season of construction has brought even more surprises and adventures in my career.
I’m excited about the way that the design of the new spaces cater to the unique situations of many of my library friends, and look forward to the vibrant, productive and inquisitive space we are building.
The marquee item in our remodel is a children’s STEM area, modeled after a children’s museum and reflecting our communities’ agricultural roots. Justin Byars, husband of children’s programmer Rachel, will build a tractor shaped play structure, with ladders and a slide. The STEM room will feature a garden and farm stand for children to “harvest” and “sell” their produce and a corn wall, based on a photograph taken by Vincent DeGroot, husband of children’s programmer Twila.
Next to the STEM room is an area I think the librarians might be most excited about, an enclosed teen gaming area. Using the library computers for video games like Roblox and Minecraft is a popular tween/teen activity. But with the high stakes of putting your avatar’s life on the line, comes noise, shouts of “DUUDE” or “LET’S GOOO.” Again, we are a library so reducing the ambient noise of tweens engaged in online battles is a high priority, and now we can at least put them behind a soundproof wall. We think our teens will like their new gaming space.
Another key renovation is the addition of more study rooms and conference rooms. In recent years we’ve often had all our meeting rooms booked out with patrons waiting. From college students cramming for finals, to office workers looking for a space to record webinars, the checkout–able conference and study rooms have already proven to be a hot commodity. We are adding three new individual study rooms and two new conference rooms.
The conference room renovation also includes a dedicated space for helping patrons fill out job applications, another popular service at the library. The new space will provide a private, comforting atmosphere away from the hustle and bustle of the kid’s spaces and allow us to more efficiently help patrons with their application requests.
Our last area for remodel is a large programming space in the back of the library, a reimagining of the previous spaces where we hosted story times and summer splash. That space now includes two sinks (for easy craft cleanup), and the removal of a classroom from the middle allows for more open space for larger group programs and activities.
We ask for your patience during the construction and are excited for all the new spaces we’ve carefully crafted and designed to serve our community’s unique needs, and to continue to foster relationships and excitement for learning!