Photo credit: Nick Chill, Decorah Public Library
Rachael Button is a Children’s and Young Adult Librarian at Decorah Public Library in Northeastern Iowa, who spoke with us about her experience as a librarian during COVID-19 lockdowns, and the constantly expanding definition of a library.
What is your role at the library?
“I'm the children's and young adult librarian at Decorah Public Library. I handle collection development, programming, and space management for ages 0 through 18. This work is suited to my interests because I get to work with young people at a range of ages and stages. I really like watching the way that kids come into their own, whether they're babies that are learning how to use the stairs, or high schoolers who are asking me for a book that reflects their identity. I feel really honored to be a witness to that, and to accompany them through those experiences.”
Your position has looked really different in the last two years, how have you had to be courageous in the face of a pandemic?
“I think something that takes courage in this job is that it's a lot of responsibility to be entrusted with the programs and the collections for an entire community’s youth. In March 2020, it was not easy or intuitive for me to jump into the new, digital programming world that was asked of me as our community shut down; I'm an educator, and I'm not necessarily an entertainer. I work for a well resourced library, but during those first shutdown weeks, I was on an old iPod, in my house doing story times and editing on an app I downloaded on our spotty-at-best rural WiFi. It was important that families and children continued to see familiar faces during that first lockdown. It was a quick and necessary pivot.
As the library opened up our spaces gradually, we've done a lot of outdoor programming, and tried to support people at whatever comfort level they're at. We are offering in-person programs inside, in-person programs outside, and things that people can do at home. All three have proven to be really popular, and it's been this constant pivot and response as we try to meet people where they're at, and support them.
Something that we have seen is that the things that you do to accommodate people's safety during COVID can also accommodate a myriad of other things that make our work more inclusive. For example: if you’re a person who works a job where you can't take your child to story time at 10:00 AM on a Monday, you can still get a take-home craft bundle. We try to be really seasonal and age diverse in the programs and activities that we put out. I also have some teenagers and seniors who sign up to do our crafts, and I love that! There is an element of being able to do a project at your own pace and in your own space that is valuable beyond the COVID safety concerns that a lot of folks may still need.”
How has your work helped support and build a more just and equitable community?
Rachael and a student on a biking field trip. Photo credit: Nick Chill, Decorah Public Library
“The further in my career that I have gotten, the more I've realized that access is a huge priority to me. The library offers kids the ability to come in and get books, programming, materials, and community engagement, all for free. We have a maker space, and kids can come in and use the materials that we've curated. Access to materials is really important to me, and giving kids access to their community is important too.
We run a biking field trip and a winter field trip program with local partners (Winneshiek County Conservation and Upper Explorerland Safe Routes to School), and that's been an exciting collaboration for me to reexamine what it means to be a library and a public space. My definition of my work goes beyond just literacy. I think that books are an invaluable tool for kids that grants them the ability to see both the world reflected to them, and themselves reflected, in a book. But I also believe in creating free opportunities for kids to connect with public land, and public spaces, that go beyond the walls of the library or the pages of a book.
I’m grateful for the imaginative programming that we've had to do the last couple years because it has expanded the definition of what library programs can look like. I think it also shows that when you put funds to a public place where it can serve a lot of people, it has the ability to make a huge impact. I feel really grateful to get to be a part of that process.”
Outside of pandemic times, have there been any persistent challenges to your work? If so, how have you handled them?
“What can be challenging is that the political environment feels really heavy and we are all just hoping that our world doesn’t implode. One of the things that has taken courage is to trust in my library, to trust in my community, to trust in the choices we've made in terms of building a collection and programs as we continue to center the community in the work. Reading the news can be overwhelming--but in the midst of a lot of uncertainty our local community has been supportive of the library and I believe the work makes a difference.
I think in my particular role, working with children and families, it is my responsibility to develop programming and a collection that reflects the diversity of my community and to stay really positive and to uplift the good things that are happening. While that work is highly important, it can also be very challenging and it often requires constant refocusing. I don't think it's much different than going into the classroom as a teacher and trying to center yourself to be that person who can be responsive to your students. The people that I work with are not my students, but I think being a person who's centered and ready to respond and bring my full energy to the work is really important. That can be a challenge, but I think it's also something that calls us up, right?”
Rachael painting with students at a library program. Photo credit: Nick Chill, Decorah Public Library
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