The library is more than just books, and our series Books and Beyond with Milwaukee Public Library showcases just that. We share resources, book recommendations and some cool stuff you might not know about.
For this edition of Books and Beyond, we’re leaving the library and going out into the community with Milwaukee Public Library’s Education and Outreach Services team (EOS). Jenny Wright, Kevin Atkinson and Kou Vang travel by sprinter van to various stops all over Milwaukee — like childcare sites, nursing homes, senior living centers and Housing Authority apartments. Their job is to make any community space into a pop-up library branch.
"It's helping people with bringing the library literally to them where they can check out books, check-in books, browse, put things on hold, we will take their order, deliver to them essentially," Wright explains. "Because there might be a reason that they can't come to the library — it could be mobility or transportation restrictions that they are not truly able to come in so we come to them."
On the day I joined the EOS team, their first stop was the Riverview apartment building on Milwaukee’s East Side. It’s a housing authority complex for low-income families, seniors and people with disabilities. Library day is the second Wednesday of every month for these residents and it’s something they look forward to, even combining it with coffee and snacks for everyone to enjoy after they pick out their books.
Before residents make their way down to the community room, the EOS team rolls in bins and bins of books, DVDs and more for people to look through. Kevin Atkinson has been with the library for 28 years and with the EOS team for 16 of them. He explains what kind of library materials the team decides to bring:
“[We] kind of start with a base of a general mix and then depending on the stop, throw in cookbooks and health books or urban fiction or more large print. Or at our next stop there's a lot of Russian speakers, so we'll bring a whole bit of Russian language books. So it all depends on the day and the site.”
Kevin’s favorite part of the job? The people he meets.
“I just like to see other people and get to know everybody and there's a real sense of community and you really get to know everyone which really gives me joy, it makes me happy. And when I first started it was like having — and I wasn't even that young — like extra grandparents, but now it feels like I got some really cool older cousins," he jokes. "So I just trying to look out for them and sometimes people will talk to us and just relate with us because sometimes we're one of the few people [they visit with]. There's a lot of isolation so we're one of a few people that they could talk to and trust and just hang out with for an hour, that's really important.”
To set up a library site, the EOS team brings a laptop, an internet hotspot and even a little receipt printer so that you know when your book is due. They can even make you a library card. Their streamlined process makes for quick work for the hour they spend at any given location, but make no mistake, becoming streamlined takes a lot of preparation.
"Essentially the first two weeks of every month we have different sites that we visit, and we visit monthly. So the entire month preceding, you know that special Tuesday or that special Wednesday that we come and see you, we are taking your calls and putting your items on hold. We're putting things aside as new books come in because what's really unique about these stops is we get to know our patrons really well..." Wright notes. "Essentially it's just kind of keeping people in mind as you get you know them and of course we're always getting new patrons too, because people are always moving in to these kinds of facilities that we visit."
The EOS team inherited a lot of sites from the library’s old bookmobile. However, the bookmobile had a lot of limitations for the kind of patrons they serve according to Wright.
"A lot of people still assume we have a bookmobile, but we don't because the bookmobile was essentially a bus and you had to climb the stairs to get inside of it and it was one way. So if I have a walker or if I'm limited with mobility, or if I have a wheelchair or motorized scooter I can't really use that service. So [these site visits] really brought down I think a lot of barriers to actually just come into the space and be able to browse and move around the community room. And people are already at home, so what a nice service to also monthly enjoy something like a guest speaker or a library."
Theresa, a regular patron at Riverview and former winner of the book reader of the month contest was browsing a table of books looking for a title to simply catch her eye. Theresa loves to read "everything," from spiritual books to fantasy, crime, and a lot of cooking shows.
"[Library day] is great, because since I can't get out and I'm not that mobile, they come, they bring me what I need. And then if if there's something special I want where there's a DVD or for book, all I have to do is tell mister over there and he gets it for me," she says.
"I think they're wonderful because you know there's seniors in this building and they're the ones that come and they get books, and for a lot of them here it's like past time. You know they're able to read, they're able to cook meals from these different cookbooks and stuff... every book that's here represents one portion of the people here in the in the building," Theresa adds.
Every book that's here represents one portion of the people here in the in the building.Theresa, Riverview resident
The EOS team also helped Riverview resident Brian Gumma connect with resources available through the Wisconsin Talking Book and Braille Library. He gets videos and audiobooks that he can play on a digital device.
"Kevin [Atkinson] hooked me up with it because the first time I told people that I was losing my sight somewhat, was I could no longer read that was a crisis point, was in this room," Gumma recalls. "And he overheard it and he immediately helped me apply for the machine and ever since then I've been using it."
At this EOS visit, Gumma was making returns and picking up more videos. He says he appreciates how library day brings all the residents together.
"I's also a very large community event for us because people love to come here, eat doughnuts and drink coffee, get to discuss building business that might not come up in the residence organization meeting and everybody loves this day of the month," he says.
As quickly as they assembled a pop-up library, the EOS team packed up all the books and loaded up the van for their next stop. I hopped in the three-seater van filled with all the gear the team needs for rain or shine and rode along with Kevin and Kou Vang. Vang was featured in a TikTok video with the outreach car that went viral. He’s been with the EOS team for almost 15 years and with the library about 25.
@milwaukeepubliclibrary The Education and Outreach Services Department brings the community together fuel circle. #Mercedes #Bentley #fyp #BentleyASMR #ASMR #LibraryTikTok #Outreach #CommunityOutreach #LibraryASMR #Pocahontas #Casette #ColorsOfTheWind #TapeDeck ♬ original sound - Milwaukee Public Library
"I was in Mexico on vacation and this couple from the UK recognized me from the videos which was pretty amazing," recalls Vang.
The Milwaukee Public Library TikTok has more than 150,000 followers. Even though social media fame was unexpected, nothing is better to Vang than meeting with patrons in the community.
"Nothing’s better than doing this though, just meeting the patrons on a regular basis [and] you build that special relationship with them. I think that's what makes the job so easy and so fun to do," he says.
You build that special relationship with [the patrons]. I think that's what makes the job so easy and so fun to do.Kou Vang
The second stop for the EOS team was Jefferson Court senior apartments where the crew set up and helped even more patrons awaiting them.
EOS' Jenny Wright says all the planning that goes into sites visits instantly pays off because people are always looking forward to seeing them and checking out new materials.
"I think I just really love like the energy of how excited people are to read about that one favorite author, that one favorite book, 'Oh, I was really looking forward to seeing this DVD!' There's a lot of residents that say that they look forward to this all month long. I mean, you don't really know how much they're getting out, how many people are visiting them but they can count on this - it's like a dependable service that they know is coming," she notes.
"I think also, I find that [I have something in common with] a lot of people who live in these facilities, which is we've been reading our whole lives. It's just a very loved hobby and so it's really fun to talk to people about that one great book, that one great author - did you read this, did you know it was going to become a series? Just having those conversations are great - you can just feel their energy that they're excited to participate in using their library," Wright adds.
