Dara Schmidt and Stacie Ledden

00:02 My name is Stacy London. I am 31 years old today is May 3rd. 2011. We are at Anythink Wright farms in Thornton, Colorado and I'm here with Darin Schmidt my friend and colleague and comrade I am darras minute. I am 35 years old today is May 3rd. 2011. We are yes in Thornton Colorado with Stacy letting my comrade so it seems like everybody has a story about how they ended up at. Any think we all came from different places, but it was like we were meant to be here. How did you get started here? And when did you start I started here in June of 2008. I was working in Los Angeles County Los Angeles County Libraries at a tiny little beautiful branch called Willowbrook which sounds fabulous, but there are no Willow.

01:02 Nor any Brooks anywhere nearby, it's in a little area right between Compton and watts and so it was not an idyllic neighborhood and though it was a challenging and amazing job to have first thing out of Library school after getting my ml is in California was not where I wanted to be Colorado had kind of always been a dream. My husband's s a rock climber in a skier and very outdoorsy and my dad went to grad school here in Denver until we'd always had connections to this area until I've been applying for jobs in Colorado for a while. And then the at that time it was still Rangeview Library District. They had a posting for a librarian generalist, which I thought was a really intriguing position because as the sort of de facto branch manager in what I was doing a whole lot of different everything and I really

02:02 Joy that aspect of the job and so that's how the librarian generalist position was advertised. And I thought that was just great and even even back then before, you know, the any think thing had happened there there was some really unique things in the job description and the way that it was written that just made me go this sounds like a really cool place to work until I came out and I did the interview and we actually drove we do we did it as a road trip and saw some friends while we were here. And as soon as I finish to the interview, I walked out and then Brandon was waiting for me back at the hotel and I was like, oh we have to talk because we're moving to Colorado. Like I knew it was going to happen and we that was on a Thursday. We drove back to California over the weekend and that Monday they called me and offered me the job. So it was they knew as soon as I did so

03:02 So I started here in October 13th, 2008 and ironically found this job on monster.com and it started as the content editor going to be updating, you know the website as we switched over to the new brand and I had no familiar arity familiarity with Rangeview Library District didn't really know Thornton or Adams County but was really excited about the position and had been doing some freelance work for Denver Public Library and I send in my resume. Just hoping that I got the job because it just sounded so exciting and Susan Dobbs are HR manager called me and said, you know, we'd like you to come in for an interview you'll be interviewing with myself and our communications director Steve Hansen and I hung up the phone and thought

04:02 Oh my gosh, I know Steve has said that about 4 months earlier for project. I did at CPL and he last thing he said to me he came up to me and said oh my God, I love your writing. So I kind of knew right away before I even went into the interview that it just felt right and it felt like I got this and my first day was actually are all staff Training Day where they introduced the staff Manifesto where Dennis Humphries are architected a presentation to on all the new libraries and I was just blown away and also just blown away by how friendly all the staff was and there was definitely an enthusiasm and excitement that was present that made me very excited about that for a little minute cuz I think that's so cool that cuz that was pretty soon after I started to that staff Manifesto and then we've used it as if you and I have gone around and then speech is other places about anyting can and what this library system is like that

05:02 Want to just described that staff Manifesto and how you felt a little bit when you wouldn't they presented that and you know what that was like to be in that room, right and you know, just hear the language that was her to the beginning of this like language that infused Anythink that infused our organization and the way that we talk about our services the way we talk to each other and just hearing part wizard part genius part Explorer. It made me just starting out look at the responsibilities of working at a library and what I could contribute at made me feel very differently about what this organization is like and what we can do as a community as a library for the community and I know for our staff it was just Incredible 2 to hear themselves described that way. Yeah, that's that's how I felt. You know it listed I forget exactly the

06:02 You are more than than just a librarian or clerk girl, you know that you're more than this. You are a wizard a genius and explore and to be told that that's not even what you're striving for. We are already that was so just cool and inspiring I love that day. We started in 2008 as solutely tell us a little bit about how it's different being a guide at Anythink versus being a librarian at other Library systems encouraged to be so creative and that the way things have always been done.

06:47 Is not necessarily the way that they should continue to be done. And that's that such part of the organization as a whole and that you know anything you see that you feel inspired to change her to try to tweak or to figure out how it would better serve your co-workers or your customers that you have the freedom to do that. I work at other Library systems that though they they were all in a great and their own way of Franklin if I'm really lucky to never work in a place that I hated. They had their limitations particularly some of the larger Library systems that were so inundated with all of these rules and structure and to change something for 7 libraries is so different than to change something for 85 libraries and so being small wheat we have that ability to go through that, you know, I do.

07:47 Stanley identify myself as a librarian. Do you know I have that degree? I worked hard to get that and I think that that's that's something that's important to me is that I am a librarian but I think being a guide is more than that and that it it gives you the sense that job title makes you feel like we're in this together and that you're you're guiding and going through a journey with your customers in with your patrons and that you get to have this sort of more personal connection then perhaps other places and I love that about here and your journey continues as an Anythink manager at the journey never ends, which is good cuz that would be terrible if it did so Stacy what has been your greatest accomplishment since you began working for anything for at least one of your greatest accomplishments, cuz I know that you have had many. Yeah, it's been a really incredible this, you know, the past two and a half years how much we've done but one of the most special moments for me.

08:47 In my career and just being a part of this story was the Anythink Jam sessions that we did before. We launched the brand in 2009, you know 2009 was a huge year for us. We went find free. We were building new libraries. We converted to the word think system from Dewey Decimal System. We completely restructured our organization. We were getting ready to launch the brand and all of this was happening at once in the very compressed amount of time.

09:21 And I started getting really nervous as September 12th 2009 approach. That was the the day we were launching the brand that I wasn't sure if the staff had the tools to talk about this new orange doodle that was on the front door. And this a new name that their customers would see when they walked in. So what we decided to do is these anything Jam sessions where Pam our director Steve Hansen our communications director at the time and myself circles around to meet with Staffing groups of about eight to ten and we talked about any think and what we did is we started by asking everybody what they're first Library memory was because we wanted to get back to the root of why we do what we do here and the stories were incredible. What we found is that there were a ton of Staff who actually came to these libraries his kids and one.

10:21 To work here and start some of them started when they were as young as 14 shelving books in our libraries and have worked here for years. And so this was a huge transformation that we were going through but they were all very passionate about it. We also started talking about elevator statements. So basically we would give a scenario like if you were in an elevator with the governor and you were riding up seven flights in an elevator, how would you describe anything to them in the time that it takes to get up to the seventh floor? And you know, we created

11:01 We created statements that wheat, they could refer to but we what we found is that the staff could speak so eloquently about what any think it's all about and they were so passionate about it and they couldn't wait to share that with their customers when we opened on September 12th, and it was a really incredible bonding experience to just get to know the staff better and to sort of share stories and then also, you know really talked about this really exciting transformation that the district was going through and I remember it was just really at the branches. It was weird and fun and cool and we came up with lots of different own programming ideas and and crazy things to do like we got I can't even tell you how many cans of orange squirty frosting so that we could you know, make our own Doodles on cookies and then we did like a yarn thing until you know, just embracing the fun behind the low

12:01 So I think was great that day. So what's been your biggest accomplishment one of many that that creativity that we both talked about sort of leaves itself and a whole lot of opportunities and one of the things that you and I took on to that together was when we when we started to head to rethink our programming and how we could really connect better to our customers. We started to talk about summer reading and why again why we were doing things the way that they had always been done because what what did summer reading really accomplish kids were reading during the summer that's a great thing for sets wonderful, but we're plastic frogs and pencil Toppers and Ice Cube on French fry coupons, like a really making a difference in anybody's lives and you don't so we sat down and we talked about it we decided that no they really were.

13:01 And that we were going to try something different and so being a part of that committee and the chair of the first my summer committee with a huge accomplishment for me and a huge undertaking. That was so much work to go through and to say yeah, we don't we're not going to do it this way and we're going to come up with from scratch our own way to tackle summer. I need a we definitely we went some directions and then kind of backed up a little bit and realized that didn't work. But when you know Pam came up with the actual slogan for my summer my summer read think do and that you know reading is just one part of it, but the thinking in the doing and taking things farther, like I think the whole group really latched on to that and it made it so real at that moment and that we could do something that was so exciting.

14:01 And so crazy and so out there and to have a summer program with no prizes and with no required reading and that it could still be fun and that people could still you know, Embrace libraries. I think of ways, you know, that's definitely the biggest accomplishment I've had so far. So if there was no I mean since there was no reading and there was no prizes like, you know, do you want to talk a little bit about like, what was there? Why don't ya eat it makes the summer there's that was the real Point behind it is what do you want to read? What do you want to think about? What do you want to do? What can the summer be for you and how can we help make that happen? So the library exists as a compliment to your life as something that can make your life better and something that can help you with whatever your goals and dreams maybe and one of them.

15:01 And about doing that the first year was having these cool scrapbooks. And so, you know, they had some pages at the beginning and that were standardized but then there were all these different types of pages in at that point. We had some different themes to sort of helped us along like time travel and Mysteries of the universe and all of those things but said that what you thought of when you saw time travel you can put into your scrapbook and that would be up to you your interpretation and then what you wanted it to be and then also turned into a way for people to really track what they were doing people, you know, it had this great album of their summer vacation and all the things they learned over the year and because of the scrapbooks, I'm really excited about our change for this year to add on to the scrapbooks and to have the journals cuz I'm not as much of a visual person myself. I'm I'm a writer like you and so, you know adding that

16:01 They're part of it and having these these journals that had this really cool. They still have that fun element of play like our scrapbooks did but they're just these beautiful things that you can take and record your thoughts in your feelings and you know glue in a leaf that you found if you want to adjust to have all of those aspects of a way to really, you know, write your own story for what your summer is going to be. So I'm excited about that.

16:31 There have been there been several on the one that I think I blew us all away was actually from another employee who kept saying that that she was not creative and she did not get the Scrapbook thing and you know, cuz we did have to convince not just our patrons, but our staff that this was a good and exciting idea and so she was a little hesitant about it. And then she had she and she calls it her scrapbooking moments that she'd like literally had this Moment of Zen with her scrapbook and just got so into it and was making little paper dolls and you know her her trips to visit her son over the summer and all of the programs that she did and the patrons that she was connecting with and she took it so far as to she had her summer scrapbook then she got another one for her fall scrapbook and her winter scrapbook and said those those were gorgeous like we all know as Katherine scrapbooks and Catherine's were gorgeous. I also had

17:31 When teenager who threw some of the the programs started to get really involved and she would create these full doubt almost three-dimensional pieces. Like she was trying to make a pop-up book out of her scrapbook which some things worked better than others a bit. It was a really really cool and amazing to just see that level of creativity with it. And you know, the other thing is the scrapbooking stations that we actually had at some of our libraries particularly at Huron Street. Where is working at the time even though people didn't necessarily create the greatest thing. You never seen to see if you know dads and daughters working together or I just a group of teenagers like hanging out at the stable putting stickers in draw on different stuff. Like they're just participating and it was it was a community building exercise while you were creating something for yourself, and that was really cool to

18:27 I think that you know what we were really going for a little we continue to go for with my summer is it's about empowerment. It's about empowering our customers and the it's our summer reading program. It's not just for kids. It's for all ages. What we like to say is that it's appropriate for ages birth to 100 which is very different from traditional programs. But we want to empower folks to really think about what they want to get out of the experience is at the library and we want to be that place that creates of Sparks of imagination. And so the other really big part of my summer is the program so, you know, we have over 200 programs that will be hosting this summer at all of our libraries and you know last year that was really sort of the most meaningful experiences that I took out of it, you know, for instance. We did a Project Runway 2050 program at our Bennett location and so anything

19:27 And it is located about a half hour east of Dia on the Eastern Plains. It's a town of about 2000 people and we had a team program out there and really that what libraries become the focal point of the community that's really was something that we strive to do. But in that Community, I mean the library is gorgeous. The teens really don't have a lot of other places to go. So to do a program like Project Runway out. There was really incredible. We partnered with a local company called fashion Denver which promotes local fashion shows and local designers in a boutique that they have downtown and the Aveda Institute and we did a two-part program where the first part the teens got into groups and they used a different materials to create their own Fashions and Brandy the founder of fashion Denver worked with them in

20:27 Talked about different styles ads really no actual sewing right? No actual sewing they could use duct tape. They could use staplers. They could use all different kinds of things to create their own pieces. So there was a model there was and there were two designers that could help construct the pieces and then the second week Aveda Institute came out did their hair did their makeup and we actually put on the fashion show. We created a little runway in the middle of the library the staff worked really hard to we had like sparkling cider and little classes and cheese and you know fruit and sort of made a whole experience out of it and Brandy from Fashion Denver emceed. We had a DJ and so we created this whole different atmosphere in the Bennett Library. Like there was nothing like this out there ever before but one of the most incredible experiences was there was one team

21:27 Girls at who a teenage girls to you know lives on their family farm and you know, weren't you probably you know, you would just maybe not like the most popular girls in school. And then there was another team with another teenage girl who you know this girl with petite. She was gorgeous you could just imagine all the boys adore her and has we were doing the run-through before anybody got their, you know, the girl the petite little gal, you know, it was her turn to get walk the runway and do the practice run and she said I can't do it. I can't go out there. I keep there's no way I can do it and she started breaking into hives and she was getting really nervous and one of the girls from the other team said you can do this. You are beautiful just believe in yourself. We believe in you and she encouraged her and

22:27 Is built her up and she got out there and she worked it. They all completely worked it on the runway. We had about 70 people attend and just seeing them encourage each other and seeing their self esteem. Just shoot through the roof. That was really what my summer was all about to me. And I agree with that wholeheartedly and it was that you know that building of community really, you know, I was doing a lot of programs with the teens over the summer and so, you know, I I tell I told you the story before but you know, we moved all the chairs and tables out and I had a 42 teenagers tossing those Camp ice cream balls like back and forth in a meeting room and and talking about you know, my favorite ice cream flavor is this or when I was little we used to go to my grandma's church and they would have an ice cream social and we would do this and just know the story is it would come out of those groupings? And I think that was exciting for all of us and another exciting things.

23:27 Just like when you were talking about how you kind of change the look of the Bennett Library and it became this Runway it became this, you know this different thing than just a library you were there for this night really had pottermania wizard rock bands come to Huron Street and it was It was supposed to be out on the lawn outside of the library, but it ended up being really really hot that day was probably you know 100u00b0 and they had that stage set up just outside the library and the musicians came in and they were really concerned about their instruments and we walked outside and literally the adhesive with melting off the skirt of the stage and it was falling off and we were like, yeah. Well, okay, obviously we're not going to do this out here, but because of the way the library has ended built and designed we had this is a beautiful programming space in the library be called The Pie room. It's triangle shaped and has these like sort of sliding big

24:27 Or is that we had that great space available. And so we thought about of course, let's do it in the library. And so we brought the bands in and we had 120 teenagers that died something like that jumping up and down like totally just rocking out to a concert in the library and people were using the library. They were checking out books. They were on computers and music was just spilling out into the rest of the space, but everybody could get what they needed and at the same time be surprised by this wonderful show and I remember you and then Pam or director and I standing there and just is the kids are jumping up and down the whole floor is moving and was standing in a library and it's just like you feel the energy and the excitement like literally your whole body is moving along with these kids. It was such a great night. It was so fun. And that's very similar to what we tried to do that. We've been really lucky for the past couple years that

25:27 We did get a mill Levy increase in 2006. So we've been able to build these like amazing libraries that you they don't feel like just like I mean you want to move in and camp out I mean and so for each one we've done is really incredible celebrations to introduce the community to their new libraries and all started with Anythink Brighton, which we open the same day that we launched the Anythink brand. So September 12th, 2009 81 anything's a one and that was actually the first one that we really just wanted to highlight wouldn't Anythink libraries all about so there were interactive things happening everywhere. We had kids learning how to hip hop dance. We had cooking classes. We even had a kazoo hullabaloo where we had a hundred people of varying ages families older folks. Everybody is doing together to Yellow Submarine.

26:27 And we tried to do something similar at each of our library openings in it. They're all based on really like what the what the personality of the library itself is the building the community for instance at Huron Street. You remember you know that building really it the light is something that is really prominent there. So, you know the theme for that opening was a celebration of light so the fire dancer fired at that moment where we didn't the laser light show and you set that up but like, you know, the smoke machines are going and there is just crazy laser like all the lights are off except for you know laser lights just flying through the bookshelves and just you know, people's faces like this. This is a library like this was happening here. That's the best response we get is when people are like I never

27:27 Do I get experience something like this little library? And you know, that's kind of what it's all about. When we opened Anythink Wright Farms where we are today. It was July of last year. So July 2010 and there had never been a library here in this area and the community really thought to have the library here at this location and we had five thousand people here that day and what the theme was freedom to dream. So we really wanted to celebrate it was near Fourth of July and we wanted to celebrate our founding fathers and you know intellectual 3 feet freedom in what libraries are all about but do it in a fun way. So we we sort of had a colonial focus and we had sessions on Urban homesteading but there was something for everyone the kids were making their own Flags. We had teams that could draw or write their own manifestos. We had a sessions on

28:27 Quran, you know for the culture that we even had a program on the history of beer where we had a representative from Coors talking about beer during colonial times. And then we had a local homebrewer talking about the trials and tribulations of Homebrewing and we did a beer tasting and so really there was something for all ages and just to see that outpouring of support from the community. I mean five thousand people here and then it continued I mean over the first three months that we were open we signed up 10,000 do library cards, which is just a library card that speaks to the events are are part of our programming and part of the things that we've really been trying to do and you know, we had I don't even remember where it was in sort of a larger grand scheme of things that we had a day where we had this meeting.

29:27 With all of our guides the talk about programming and what we were doing and why we were doing it and how it could be different. And so we you know, when we've had that moment where we had this conversation and we really changed our Focus as to why we were doing our programs and it instead of you know, that the thought process before had been. Well, you know, I really want to teach people how to make ice cream. So I'm going to have a program that does that but then it turned into what do you want people to really get out of it? How can you change people's lives or change their thought process change their Viewpoint with an experience that they can have at the library and so, you know the summer program to talk to you about the grand openings to really kind of shape and change people's perspective. I think became our goal and we've done a lot of things that have really made that happen.

30:26 And we have and not just in our programming and they're either we try to do these things that people can happen upon and we have our experience zones is what we call them. And it's it's something that you know, if you can come to one of our programs instead of scheduled time and in a tennis set place, that's great. That's fantastic. But if you just happen to be coming to the library on a Tuesday afternoon, and there's really nothing plan that's going on. You still might find a surprise, you know, there's been Bennett had this great Snow Fountain if they literally like a made it snow in the children's section and they had little shovels and little gloves that you could put on Amino shovel up snow in the children's section in that was adorable and attitude Huron Street after we opened Sandra our manager had this idea that she thought it would be great to have

31:26 Zen Garden in the lobby and then it was going to be this wonderful peaceful experience that you walked in today and they did a lot of studying about what's an Gardens are and Doug and Manuel are facilities guys made up this box to scale out of like the exact right Redwood to make it an appropriate zen garden and they got these little rakes and they filled it with Sam and and it was it was beautiful and we all did it before we opened in the morning and you know rates are sand and became peaceful and centered and and it was great and then we open the doors and within five minutes. They were two kids in there playing with it. Like it was a Sandbox and it's so, you know Sandra looked at it and bless all of us for our flexibility and our willingness to go with it cuz she went right out and got some shovels and sand pails and it became a Sandbox because you don't want sometimes a zen garden is just a Sandbox. And so, you know as we try all of these things to be new to me.

32:26 Print to be exciting to engage people, you know, we learn from our patrons in our customers as well that sometimes our vision of things is not necessarily with their vision of things is and so we changed it and we adapted and we try to make it more what they wanted to be. I think we're doing it this year by sort of changing some of the my summer ideas and to be more responsive to what people are looking for. And so I think you know, that's that's something that we're always striving to achieve is we were created for fun were Innovative. But what can we do to respond to your needs as well as our customers, so

33:02 There and wondering if you could make sure we get a good description of a comparison of that sort of a positive negative being fresh out of Library school. And actually, you know, I grew up in a really small town in Iowa 5000 people and then I moved to Los Angeles for my at my first graduate school in creative writing and then went back to graduate school for librarianship. And so, you know, I'd Los Angeles it kind of opened my eyes to a whole lot of things and then being at this this tiny little Branch my my very first day I started and I met the manager and she had a doctor's appointment and she call

34:02 Called and said actually it's terminal cancer. And so I'm not coming back. And so I didn't see her again until my second day working when I was still lives in my last semester Library school. I became the de facto manager there cuz there was nothing else. So it was an experience of wow a whole lot all at once. What was really interesting about their is that the library where I was working was designed to be is really small and designed to be like a reading room but the community wanted a real library and so the circulation was through the roof at that place, even though we didn't have a lot of stuff and it was but it was a very traditional library and so people came in and they checked out books and they use the computers and we did, you know some programming we had story times and I worked with teens there as well and started to know a book club band and a craft group like

35:02 Once every month, but it was

35:06 Very traditional and standard and it was nothing to change people's ideas or perceptions of what a library could be. It's just what everybody thought a library was and what it do, you know had always been and so even though it was

35:28 A good place