Leading in the Library

By Molly Kent, College for Social Innovation, School Partnerships Intern Fall 2021

During my very first week at St. Stephen’s Youth Programs, Liz Steinhauser, SSYP’s Senior Director of Community Engagement, led me through the hallways of the Blackstone Elementary School. We walked up the ramps and staircases leading to the library. At the top of the stairs, the Library can be seen- nestled in the back of the hallway filled with bright lights due to the generous amount of windows the library holds. The Blackstone-SSYP School Library does not have doors or walls. I remember thinking how loud it was- the bustle from the cafeteria just a few feet away and the commotion from classes passing back and forth. I remember Liz was picking up a few books that had fallen from the shelves as we whirled around the space. 

As we left the library, Liz asked me what I thought. “It’s so small,” I said, “the elementary school I went to had a massive library. There was a computer lab, study rooms, and event spaces.” And I loved that library just like I loved the library at my high school and the same way I love the library at my home university now. 

I think my perception of the library being “so small” was not only a reflection of my whiteness and my privilege from growing up in a small town on Cape Cod, it was also a reflection of my ignorance. Not just my ignorant perception of what a school should look like, but also my ignorance as to how much love, care, attention, and energy had gone into creating the library. When I dismissed the space as “so small,” I dismissed the work that had gone into creating it. 

In a way, the space in which the library exists now was not really meant to exist in the school- no doors or walls, no built-in shelving- the space was crafted and curated by volunteers, by the community. 

I came to SSYP on September 7th as the “School Partnership Fellow” from CfSI. While I instantly fell in love with the programming and the staff at St. Stephen’s, it took me a while to get into the library and get things moving. 

After weeks of scheduling, meetings, and a lot of organization and communication, the Blackstone-SSYP School Library opened on Monday, October 18th after 19 months of closure due to Covid-19. As the new Library Coordinator, being in charge of every step of the way has been both rewarding and stressful. 

The library’s re-opening was miraculous and receptive! In about a month, we re-organized the library, processed hundreds of new books, made a complicated schedule between teachers and volunteers, and finally opened up for class visits. 

I work in the library every day, Monday through Wednesday for at least a couple of hours. Seeing the collaboration between volunteers, teachers, and students is wildly important. As we have been approaching this fall’s goal of 1,000 new books shelved to the library, there have been challenges, but coming in every day and seeing the love the students have for the library genuinely makes every step of the way rewarding.

What sets the Blackstone-SSYP School Library apart from other school libraries, is not the absence of a librarian or the lack of walls, it is the amount of genuine love the entire community has worked into the library. The Blackstone-SSYP School Library is filled with committed volunteers like Paula, one of 13 volunteers at the library. Paula is a former school librarian who has recommitted her time and energy into creating a wonderful library space for elementary students. 

The Blackstone-SSYP School Library is filled with passionate teachers like Ms. Rachelle, one of 20 teachers to bring her class to the library this fall. Ms. Rachelle balances three Multiple Disabilities (MD) classes while remaining dedicated to helping the library find storage space and expand to a bigger place in the school. 

Most importantly, the Blackstone-SSYP School Library is filled with curious students who have an avid love of reading like Prince, a 5th grade student at the Blackstone, who always asks where the next book is in the series he is reading or like Mabel, who has literally jumped for joy when she found the perfect book. 

A few months into my internship now, having come a long way from September 7th, I have realized, with absolute certainty, that the Blackstone-SSYP School Library is not “so small,” it is massive because every single day it is FILLED with love, energy, and care from an entire community that is undoubtedly committed to making the library an exceptional space for the students of the Blackstone Elementary School.