Local New Community Library Internship Available

Posted by Alex Lehner on

Job Description | FSU Student Internship

Background

The Seminole Manor Neighborhood Association is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization with a loose collective leadership and open membership. We are a neighborhood that still functions as you want all neighborhoods to: neighbors look out for and care for one another. We have a significant number of families with modest, even meager, means.

And we have some courageous kids who cruise the neighborhood daily looking for adults who can bring them the world!

 

In 2008 Adrian Fogelin, a neighbor with a passion for books and some “connect-withkids”know-how, began using her own public library card to check out books for a few of her young neighbors. Their book exchanges were filled with enthusiasm:

 With a defacto librarian and books already circulating from door to door, the idea for a neighborhood library was born. A front porch was offered as a place to house the collection, and we began amassing second hand books from various places – mostly from people who heard about the library via Adrian.

 Several things were apparent from the start. First, fostering a love of (even an interest in) reading requires access to books and to adults who read them. Second, without a community center or other publicly accessible space nearby, the library has the potential to be more than just a place to pick up books. And, the creation of a small lending library is not a new idea. However, tools now exist – through many electronic media formats – to document the launch of the Front Porch Library as a model for other neighborhoods, afterschool programs, or social entrepreneurs to follow.

 

Tasks

We have identified several tasks a student intern could take on to help launch the Front Porch Library. Ideally, the intern would assume a leadership role but she/he should also plan to share do-able tasks with older, capable children who want to participate.

Some of the intern’s tasks are to:

Set-Up

  • Complete the design and set-up of the library’s physical space (i.e., collection,
  • cataloging, computing & meeting space)
  • Create a simple cataloging system
  • Enter data on the current collection

Circulation

  • Refine circulation policy
  • Establish check-out system
  • Begin official circulation
  • Identify role of student librarian
  • Identify tasks for regular adult volunteers

Outreach and Sustainability

  • Establish hours and routines for regular library use
  • Create job descriptions for volunteers
  • Set up a system for thanking book donors & volunteers
  • Collect program ideas from library users
  • Evaluate library’s success

Front Porch Library as a Model

  • Document the history of the Seminole Manor Front Porch Library through photographs, journal entries, and collection records
  • Identify multiple copies of books with “pass along” potential
  • Contact other local neighborhood associations who are interested in creating a Front Porch Library
  • Record the process through information on a website or weblog
  • Share lessons learned with interested parties (at regional and national library or media conferences, Florida Neighborhoods Conference, and with grassroots/community organizing campaigns)

Student Intern Hours

Many of the tasks above could be accomplished without a neighborhood host on hand. We imagine having weekly meetings with the intern, likely more often in the beginning. We would also expect that the intern would host events that involve neighbors in the library set-up process. A regular weekday intern schedule could be arranged with some late afternoon and weekend hours needed on occasion.

Skills Needed

  • can work independently & collaboratively
  • has strong written communication skills
  • skilled at using a variety of Internet & computer resources
  • familiar with children’s literature
  • willing to troubleshoot storage & preservation issues
  • trustworthy & kind
  • creative and dedicated to a community-based project

 

For more information, contact Kary Kublin, Seminole Manor Neighborhood Association, by phone (850.576.6418), email (smna2007@gmail.com), or via the neighborhood blog (http://seminolemanor.wordpress.com <http://seminolemanor.wordpress.com/> ). Front Porch Library is a project of the Seminole Manor Neighborhood Association, a nonprofit 501(c)3 entity. All donations are tax deductible.