Greenville County Library System youth services manager Karen Allen has been part of the library since April 1994, when she started as a library assistant in the audiovisual department.
She shared her thoughts on a normal day at her job, her favorite part of what she does and the greatest misconception about being a librarian.
What made you decide to become a librarian?
My educational background is in child development and social work, and I also love books and reading. [Becoming] a youth librarian seemed to be the perfect fit for all of my interests.
What is a normal day on your job?
Every day is different, and that’s one of the reasons why I love my job. I work with community groups to provide them with materials and information about our services. I also assist staff in my department with program planning, read book reviews, compile reading lists for parents and caregivers, select materials to add to our collection and apply for grants. I search for unique ways to provide families with enjoyable learning experiences. No matter the day, one of the highlights for me is seeing the smile on a child’s face when a parent or caregiver signs them up for a library card. Families have a lot of options beyond just books that are available to them with a library card, such as downloadable movies, eBooks, audiobooks, magazines, comics and music. Our staff is always happy to make suggestions.
What is your favorite thing about your job?
I love working with the staff in the youth services department because they are so energetic, thoughtful and creative. I’m constantly in awe of them and their passion to inspire learning. They encourage me to think of new ways to better serve the public. We build a literary framework into our programs that incorporates reading, writing and math readiness; gross and fine motor skills; and artistic/sensory, social/emotional and language/vocabulary development. Even the simplest story shared with a child can be a fun and engaging learning experience.
What do you think is the greatest misconception about what you do?
The most common misconception I’ve heard is that when you work in a library you get to read books all day. We have to do our reading at lunch or at home, just like everyone else, but finding new reading material is never a problem.
