Schlow Library Children’s Department Leaders Plan to Build on Strengths

When Paula Bannon was in fourth grade, her school librarian, Mrs. Cox, suggested she read ‘Black Beauty’ by Anna Sewell. Her librarian always could find a book for Bannon to enjoy, but ‘Black Beauty’ was different.

“I must have read it four or five times that year,” Bannon said. “I loved that book. It was then that I decided I wanted to become a librarian so I could spend all day with amazing books.”

For nearly a decade, Bannon has worked in public libraries. The last four years she has been the children’s librarian at Schlow Centre Region Library. In September, she became head of children’s services at Schlow, replacing Anita Ditz, who retired after 34 years at the library.

Katie Brennan, who had been the library technician for the children’s department, replaced Bannon and is now Schlow’s children’s librarian.

The two take a lot of pride in the department that was built under Ditz’s leadership, and they want to continue to make it a place where kids can play, learn and discover — or continue to fuel — their passion for reading.

“We pride ourselves on being a welcoming and warm place, where people want to spend time beyond choosing books to take home,” Brennan said. “Anita has created an environment where kids can really be kids, and as a staff, we fully embrace that idea, and I think that’s a huge part of our appeal.”

It’s also a strength of the library that Bannon plans to continue.

“Schlow has earned the designation as a Family Place library, which means that we are a community hub for children and their families, and we have special programs and a great space for families to come to read, learn, and explore together,” said Bannon, who before coming to Schlow was the youth services librarian at Elizabethtown Public Library.

While the children’s department has long been a “hub” for children and their families, it can be a challenge to attract families to the library because of all the other activities and events kids may be involved with, especially during the summer.

“Today’s kids are so busy, and, especially in the Centre Region, there are so many choices for them,” Brennan said. “A challenge for us will always be staying fresh and current so that we continue to appeal to kids as they make those choices. Doing that on a public library budget is tricky, but I think we have a strong sense of what the community wants, and we rely on it to guide our decision-making.”

Bannon does have a “wish list” of how she’d like the children’s department continue to build and grow from the foundation that has been set.

“My biggest dream is to someday be able to have a ‘story time mobile’ that we could use for outreach opportunities to childcare centers and communities who may not be able to come in to the library,” she said. “We could do story times and other programs and even give people the opportunity to check out other books. We would bring the library to them.
“I’d also love to create an outdoor classroom in our Reader’s Garden to add an outdoor, hands-on element to our STEM programs. In the future, I’d love to further expand our programs for kids in elementary school, too.”

The last goal seems fitting since it’s in elementary school where Bannon’s dream to work in a library began.

“I often think about Mrs. Cox when I’m recommending a new book to a child,” she said. “My goal is to find them something that they will really love — something that will make them even more passionate about reading. I like to think of librarians as sharers of knowledge, whether it is the next amazing fiction book or where to find just the right information for a school project.”

David Pencek is communications manager for Schlow Centre Region Library. He can be reached at dpencek@schlowlibrary.org.