Nice People in the Library--Readers' Advisor

Keeping with this week’s theme about “nice people” in my community, I will write about another staff member of the public library: Joann.

Joann was a children’s library assistant when I first met her. She was employed at the library that I frequented as a kid, Oaklyn Branch Library in Evansville, Indiana. However, I didn’t know her back then. I didn’t meet her until I was taking my own children to that same library location. I took my children to the library every week. I was impressed by the fact that Joann could remember all of my children’s names. That was no small feat given the fact that I had six children! I was even more impressed by the fact that Joann not only knew their names, but she knew their individual interests. She knew that Carla loved horses, and one day when we arrived at the library Joann came up to Carla and said, “We just got this new book at the library, and I saved it back for you because I knew you would like it.” Needless to say, Carla liked the book. Carla also liked Joann, as did all of us in my family. We weren’t alone. Everyone loved Joann!

Joann had a servant’s heart, and her main heart’s desire was to please the library patrons she was serving. If anyone had a question or needed library materials for a project, Joann would labor away until she found the correct answer or provided her patrons with a stack of books on the topic. She wouldn’t just find one book for your project; it was always a stack of books! In other words, Joann went above and beyond her “call of duty.”

Joann later became a readers’ advisor at this same library location. I later became a co-worker with Joann when I started working at Oaklyn—the first step in my library career. I don’t recall a single day when Joann was ill-tempered or rude with anyone. And I soon realized that Joann didn’t just remember the names of my children; she seemed to know the names of everyone who walked into the library! I was amazed with her memory until I realized she likely made a conscious effort to remember people. The wonderful thing about Joann, though, was that it wasn’t EFFORT for her to remember people; it was a natural response and joy for her. Joann was niceness personified! Joann positively influenced my children during their “growing up” years by providing them with plenty of interesting reading material and a pleasant, welcoming environment at the library.

Lessons I learned from Joann and try to apply now that I’m a librarian: Be nice, address your patrons by their names, serve them with a pleasant attitude, and give them more than they ask for.

Joann still works at Oaklyn. If you visit that library and see her, please give her a hug for me!