Hillsborough County library programs honored
By Kyle LoJacono
Answers for technology questions, classes on how to manage money and high-energy plays designed to entertain and educate.
They aren’t various programs spread out at different places throughout the area. All three and more are available free of charge at Hillsborough County’s libraries. Susan Oliver, chief librarian for five locations including Lutz Branch and Jimmie B. Keel in Carrollwood, has seen the focus change with the times in her 25 years with the system.
“We do a lot with e-books now and teach people how to use them,” Oliver said. “People are bringing in their smart phones now and asking us for help, and we’re teaching all of that. We’re the bridge between not knowing something and being literate, not just in the print world but the overall world. Our overall goal is to keep everyone coming to the library.”
The system was recently awarded the Betty Davis Miller Youth Services Award from the Florida Library Association (FLA) for outstanding children’s programs, specifically those designed for homeschoolers. It is the first time Hillsborough has been awarded the top honor. FLA gave specific accolades to its science and consumer science services.
Oliver said the system started having programs focused for homeschoolers about 15 years ago.
“Our science programs really took off when the library opened at MOSI (in 1995),” Oliver said. “It closed last year because the agreement was up, but it started everything.”
The science equipment was moved to the John F. Germany Library in Tampa, but other branches also offer versions of the program. There are hands-on displays like skeletons, dissection displays and other nontraditional exhibits.
Oliver said having a science program isn’t uncommon for a library system, but added what separated Hillsborough was the displays are available to check out like books.
At Jimmie B. Keel, the county’s most used library, there are programs for those only a few months old to senior citizens.
There are classes to help spark children’s interest in reading to more hands-on activities like Lego Club, which meets the second Thursday monthly from 6 to 7:30 p.m. to build various displays.
More than 40,000 people attended the programs for kids and teens at the county’s 28 libraries during the first quarter of this year. Oliver said the goal of the program depends on the age group, such as early literacy for preschoolers.
“If they learn those early skills before school they have a better chance to read at grade level,” Oliver said. “The goal isn’t to get them to read, but for them to understand how books work and how to know what a word is and how they go together to make a story. … We can’t teach all the early learning skills in a few programs, but what we do is give parents the information to do it at home.
“For older kids the goal is to help them understand the library is here for them,” Oliver continued. “It’s free and we can teach literacy with books and computer literacy, which is something that is useful for any age.”
Toddler story time is very popular at Jimmie B. Keel, so they are looking to add a second weekly session.
“We want to keep the numbers around 20 so there’s more direct learning,” Oliver said.
Grace Gimenez and her 3-year-old daughter, Dakotah, have come to Jimmie B. Keel’s story time once a week and to puppet shows since the younger turned 1.
“Story time is great because the kids librarian is great with them and they learn a lot too,” Gimenez said. “She learns about reading from the songs. She sings a lot, constantly actually, the songs she learns at story time. She loves the books.”
The programs are free except for one art class in SouthShore Regional, and the majority of the funding comes from donations made by the Friends of the Public Library along with money made in the groups’ bookstores.
Oliver said the system offers many more classes for kids during the summer when school is out. Visit www.hcplc.org/hcplc/events/index.html for a complete list of upcoming events across the county, or call (813) 273-3652.
