Kristine Olsen and Dara Schmidt

00:01 Hi, my name is Dara Schmidt. I am 41 years old today is October 27th, 2017. We are here in Cedar Rapids Iowa and I am with my colleague. Hi, my name is Christine Olson. I am 39 years old today's date is October 27th, 2017. We're here in Cedar Rapids, Iowa to Cedar Rapids Public Library and I'm here with my Great Khali Dora. So I want to ask you a question and that's why libraries for you. Like why did you get into this work? I'm kind of by accident because I got a job straight out of high school at what was going to be my my University's Library cuz I was fixing to to get into my undergraduate studies and a family friend hooked me up with that job at first it was like well

00:56 This is pretty cool. But I don't know if this is what I want to do with the rest of my life found myself into a different department cuz I had started out and bound periodicals shelving bound periodicals and then ended up in what was called the information delivery services department fancy name for interlibrary loan was going to have to ask so if I was working there it's like you know, this is pretty cool. You get to work as a team, you get to deliver content to two people wear their it's students or staff. I mean, what am I what do I need to do to get into this so that I can continue to explore what librarianship is all about? So

01:42 Found out hey, you can actually get a master's degree in this. Alright. Well, okay probably wouldn't hurt to have that on them.

01:52 Doc it's so that I have more opportunities in the future. So got my master's degree in this was my first gig straight out of Library School, although kind of a 10-month lag between graduation and actually starting here cuz it was not the best of economy's to find a job in 2001. So how ya so it was the 10-month flag between December 2001 when I graduated when I started here in 2002, this month matter fact tomorrow is my 15 year anniversary is I didn't even know that congratulations are you so how did you find yourself in libraries actual paid job was as a page of the Manchester Public Library where I went to high school and that was a very like it's a small town. It's a small town library. So what page meant was? Yeah, we put the book.

02:52 Back, but we also the regular staff didn't really work nights and weekends or at least not as many of the staff and so I was in charge of the children's Library nights and weekends alternating with with a friend of mine from high school and like that what it was me and the children's Department was downstairs in the basement of the library and I would sit there behind the desk and you know, check out books to kids and occasionally breakup tiny child bites and occasionally, let them hit each other cuz it's like well, I'm not your parent handle your business long as they didn't break the books. I kind of let it happen and you know read ridiculous amounts of Sweet Valley High paperbacks that we're sitting there and you know, it was it was there like best high school job to have and everybody on your way because they hired two high school students every other year so it cuz it rotated out. So, you know, if you were in the year they were hiring at the library. You were so lucky because then you know, you'd graduate.

03:52 Higher the next to usually was girls. I assumed at some point. They hired a boy but like a was Dee job to get in high school and then I didn't think for a second that I actually wanted to be a librarian like that. Did I work there for two years and it never occurred to me that that was like an actual career path I was going to do I don't know what I thought I was going to do anything like I needed to get out of Manchester and go to college like I was there was a ton of 5,000 people. I was The Minister's daughter like everybody knew everything about me and it was time for some anonymity. So I went to college in Cleveland and got a degree in English. And then I took the LSAT for some reason. Oh, yeah. I took the SATs and my like logic score. I only miss one and so my advisor it was like you usually go to law school and I was like

04:47 I don't know what I'm going to do with an English degree to go to law school. And so I took the LSAT and I scored really well and I got into Iowa for a law school like in the early decision program. And so I was going to I graduated early from college and then I was going to start law school in the fall. So I graduated I think in March cuz we were on a quarter system and I was going to start in July actually to go to law school and moved home and on a whim. I had applied to the University of Southern California for creative writing for graduate school because I really wanted to be a screenwriter but I didn't think I was going to get in and so I had already moved home. I'd already said yes to Iowa and I got the letter from USA. It said he ran and I told my parents.

05:38 Find LA and they went oh my God, OK like we will support you. Whatever it is you want to do? So I went to Los Angeles and I got a degree in creative writing and that is a really hard thing to actually make a living at and so I started working at this subtitles and closed captioning place and it was like a sweatshop like we work 60 hours a week and my hands got really screwed up. You can see my scars. I just had to have carpal tunnel surgery and got nerve damage. And the rest of my hands of the whole workers comp thing it took me years. I had chronic pain and it was miserable and they had this deal like after the lawsuit and all of that stuff that basically California offered a retraining program for people to get back into the workforce after they've had major Workforce injuries, but I already had a master's degree. And so this was typically like they would send you to do some sort of new man.

06:38 Factoring course or something. Like that was a really unique case and so they had to like I had to lawyer and we had to go through a bunch of extra decisions with the state of California where they would actually pay for me to add the money I could use for retraining could go to graduate school, which was did not happen for what they did. And so my first semester my first year of Library school was paid for through that and the reason I chose it is because I sat there and it was like this moment. I was looking out on the ocean going to be okay. I got to change my life. I got to do something. I can't keep doing this. What is the only job I've ever had that I really loved and it was at the Manchester public library and I was like seriously, like that's where I go back to you. Like that's what I want to do because people love the library people were happy there and you got this amazing sense of instant gratification, when you like gives buddy something that they want something they need they have this question. And so and I went back to the library.

07:38 About to pass. I totally get where you're saying about walking into a library and being happy and content because there were no periods in my life where I was the new kid a lot and it was kind of the library. That was the

07:57 I have to say the constant because I knew that it was a safe place where I could just go be in an environment where I didn't have to worry about. Okay, who's going to you know, I'm going in for me now and it was just meeting new friends and between the covers of books and the Librarians were always so helpful so welcoming so warm and I think some of that experience probably had some influence on my ultimate decision to get into this line of work too because it's it's easy for me to go back to those times and go

08:37 Yeah, it was kind of a Haven for me. So I'm kind of paying it forward by being somebody else's Haven.

08:47 So for me, it's been extremely rewarding to be that person that's getting people in touch with some piece of information that they're looking for or even just simply a good book to read where they can escape life and read about something else for a change cuz goodness knows today's news is

09:09 Heart, how did your friends let's say so it's it's it's really nice to work in a place where it doesn't matter who you are or where you come from.

09:23 What year Creeds are what you believe you're all certainly welcome to walk through our doors and it's just it's a tremendous thing to work for something that is that open and inviting and welcoming and just all-around here for people and you get to meet like that instant gratification thing as an employee is like the librarian at such a cool thing. That's how many jobs are there that exist in the world where like somebody has a need and you actually just get to fill it and they leave happy. That's awesome that we get to do that but it's also like amazing when you think about all the different people and all the different characters and all the different types and ages and races and Creeds and colors and like all the different people that we get to interact with today today in our work is just amazing. Exactly cuz who hasn't called up say the utility company with a complaint.

10:20 Where at where I'm going with this where you at the automated, press one for this press you for that procedure for this and by the time you get to know when you're like I was I supposed to start the menu all over again. And then you're still talking to machine. I mean at least when you walk through our doors you get a live human person and chances are unless you're you've got some really esoteric Oddball Mead. You're probably going to walk out with at least something to satisfy what you were looking for in customer service these days it seems like it's becoming more and more of a lost art, but I think libraries in general have have raised the bar because

11:06 Not only are we a place where you can find materials to read but we're also a community center. We're here to help build the community were here to build up its individuals and make their lives better. Even if it's just something as simple as getting a hold of the book that they want to read. We're just here and I don't think any other institution does that today? And you don't you know that I care about this stuff cuz we talked about it at work all the time. But we also we have this really unique place. Where where do you need place in time where people are not connecting with other people in the same way. They are connecting virtually exactly able to like have a moment where there's a person that's actually there and interested in what you're saying and you can make connections. And so, you know, when we when I ask for people to share great stories with me, you have some awesome great stories that you share that are like often time.

12:06 Hey, this was a thing that I had in common with a patron and we made a connection. I'm thinking about the it was like the Ren Faire or something about the costumes. Remember that story you told me that wandered in looking for patterns free authentic Viking Viking dress for for you know herself because she is a member of the society for Creative anachronism soon. We kind of looked online and found some some patterns online, but it wasn't quiet getting to where she wanted to go, but I said her off on a computer so that she could kind of start looking through for herself to find what would would would suit and

12:50 I decided you know, if while she's working on that maybe I can play Super librarian and find some Nifty books that she can take with her and I found a couple of encyclopedias of fashion through the year found one that was even dedicated towards medieval clothing. I handed them to their to her and she was like, oh my God.

13:13 Find that this is exactly the kind of stuff that I'm kind of wanting to look at. So really earned your stripes tonight. So it was extremely rewarding as a matter of fact, I just helped the gentleman earlier this week who is looking for some information on a car that he was repairing. So, of course, he's wandering in expecting to find a nice big ol long row of Haynes & Chilton's manual. Well 2008 those went down the river but I said what we had all these, you know, lovely databases that we can probably find what you're looking for in there. So I took him over to the computer showed him how the database work and he's like wow, this is really cool. I'm going to tell my friends about this so

14:01 To me it was kind of rewarding in the fact that nothing like word-of-mouth to spread around the news of what your local public library has to offer and then you've had a great conversation with him and his hand of the library, but he also as connected with the person at the library. And so when he's got another question and he sees you he will come up to you and talk to you again and sometimes the best part is when those connections happen when you're not expecting it. Do you know what I'm about to ask you about after the 2016 flood?

14:34 Right where we made you go and what we got to do, which was Library work yet, but it was not typical Library work for you has you know, my my primary responsibility is working with materials and cataloging the collection. So, you know working with books working with adults. I understand them then I get to sign to go to Jane Boyd.

15:01 Children dear Lord, this is going to be new so I went to Jane Boyd after the 2016 flood is kind of an Outreach thing that we were doing as a result. We are fatigued we were closed because we were in the inundation area of the library was fine, but people couldn't be here and we're working and we were paying them and so the manager is like we had a call every morning and it was like, okay, we've got people we've got great people who are ready to help and our community needs help, but we can't give it to him through the library, right? What can we do with those people? And so we called Our Community Partners like Jane Boyd in the Y and said you got extra kids there don't you write exactly so so I'm heading to Jane Boyd kind of nervous cuz

15:54 You know.

15:55 Relating to kids for me not the easiest of propositions didn't really relate to my peers to well when I was once. Oh, okay, fake it till you make it so I went in and ended up connecting with the little girl who we dug around in the the tote that got sent out with the folks that went to these places that had all kinds of activities and found a minion book with a bunch of stickers. So she ended up minion sizing me and sticking stickers all over me, but

16:30 It was kind of nice to know that you know, I help this little girl pass the time and maybe kind of forget about some of the cares that she has because those kids I mean there was some kids that we helped her like at the Red Cross shelter that like they couldn't go home and do what else were they going to do or their parents? Like we're out sandbagging and they dumped imagine voice because they needed to help and so like in those moments are moments where we connect with people and that's what her I mean your urine cataloging like it's about the books. It's about the materials those things are important, but it's about how we connect with people and sometimes that means how we're connecting people with the materials but really, you know, there are there are some days that I think were it not for public libraries. We might not be connecting with each other at all in person anymore in this town it is it is a very strange place we are in time.

17:29 Yeah, I've kind of noticed that too because I remember growing up, you know, my folks getting together with a bunch of my dad's clients cuz he's a veterinarian so that used to get together with a bunch of their clients and they've since moved around and have now found their way coming full circle back to where my life started and

17:54 They haven't been able to really make those connections that they used to have way back when and it's just kind of interesting to see how our socialized have have changed. It's more like doing our own thing and

18:11 I kind of wonder how much of a price we're paying for the Nifty technological stuff that we've got today.

18:18 How we at we still have to be people right and do your parents or back at like in kind of downtown when you grow up where I spent pretty good chunk of my childhood, but we moved around quite a bit. So

18:32 Experiences that I wouldn't trade or whatever because they informed the person I am today at times but that's to be expected when your 10 years old 11 13 and 14. So when you move and so is that is the library still there. There was the library when you were a kid. Have you been Mac? Fortunately, we really didn't make too much use of the library in the small town that I live next to we were at that point in time. I would assume that the school library. That was my first Library experiences still there and it was kind of just talked in this classroom very small, but it served its purpose and it was just kind of need to water in there and to look at all the Nifty books. So

19:28 Wasn't until I got into.

19:31 A bigger city that I began to really explore libraries and what they all had to offer that's kind of a silencer. You kind of you started a little bit later. Mine was the opposite like my my mom some of my earliest memories are a child is going to the public library. Like I remember exactly what it look like in town. We lived in town and that's a big that's a big difference and I remember, you know, I can remember books that I checked out and fax like one of my absolute favorites I was talking about this with my kids the other day because I'm the problem parent I store stuff up and cause all kinds of trouble and one of my favorite books when I was a kid was about this dog to had like at your dad's vet. This is what made me think of it again had like a little carrier thing like The Wheels on the back of him cuz he had gotten hurt or something and the dog's name in the title of the book was scuttlebutt and I thought

20:31 That was hysterical because it said but in the title and so of course I wanted to check out scuttlebutt every time we went to the public library in my mother again with the dog because she knew it wasn't about the dog. It was about the fact that I wanted to hear everyone say scuttlebutt over and over and over exactly cuz even is like a four-year-old. I had the sense of humor of a 14 year old boy, which I maintained to this day. I can appreciate that kind of sense of humor cuz if somebody tells a fart joke, I'm back to a three year old. Yeah. Do you have any memories of like your youngest like you're going to get some books or thing? You feel like stuck out to as a kid?

21:12 My parents read to me a lot when I was very young and one book that does stick out is scuffy the tugboat. I read the cafe to my kids now and we have a little we have a little scruffy that goes in the tub. So that was one of my my favorite one in there was

21:31 I think

21:33 Betsy goes home something to that effect.

21:37 Why the Berenstain Bears books, of course, those are kind of a staple of anybody's childhood?

21:50 Those are the ones that trigger memories now, but just let you know like living out in the country. It's different like we were always Town kids because my dad is a minister and so like that. Tell him you had was in my given and most likely it was a personage that was like attached to or very near to the church. And so you were you were wherever the church was likely form during most of my childhood that was within walking distance to the library. So it ended up really fortunate because we didn't have we had books in the house. We always had books in the house the hell. Yeah, you know, my mom was a teacher and my dad was a minister and so they both Eno had college education reading was important to them education is important to them, but she didn't she didn't work most of my childhood and when she did it was like substitute teaching. She didn't teach full-time from the time the kids were born and my dad was a small-town minister is there was that money like we didn't buy books. We had hand-me-down books.

22:50 Library books books books in our house

22:57 My grandmother on my dad's side. I think purchased a few of them for us and they did make a point of of reading to us. So I was exposed to books at a young age, but I don't think I really gained the very keen appreciation for them until a little bit later on.

23:19 Especially when I was in junior high cuz I was exposed to bigger libraries on the Air Force bases that were in San Antonio where I was living at the time and

23:36 Kind of realizing that you know.

23:39 There's a lot to be said for what's between the covers of a book.

23:43 Are you are you a big reader now over acious?

23:47 What's your favorite stuff now? I forgot I got to do a session going right now. One of which is the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon and the other is the Song Of Ice And Fire series by George RR Martin, so it's been rather hard to

24:05 Balance those two rather wait E-Series as long looks like I'm ready either of those series because they're too long. I just can't. Like I I am probably the only librarian in the world who has not read a single Harry Potter book.

24:24 You're too long. Like my kids get old enough. Like I'll probably actually like I will read them with them and I'll call you beautiful because like we will we will get bigger earrings him at the same time. I'm good enough, but I look at a 700-page book and I'm like now I'm tired. I can't I can't even start with you. And so, you know, I was a teen librarian for a long time before I got into it like a manager and stuff. And so I would you know, I read the stuff that's quick and short you can really or young adult size than yeah, right. My favorite book of all time is the Black Jewels Trilogy by Anne Bishop it say I've heard of that before right? I've got the Omnibus Edition Works got the first three books of that became a series and it and 1200 page book and I've read it multiple times because it's just that good. Like I read I read the stand when I was in high school.

25:23 Remind it was like 12. I checked it out while I was working at the library like that, Serena. William wants to get through. I mean I did it forever forever and I like it was a good book. I liked it. I like the story. It was interesting. You know, it was some of my like, you know teenagers read Stephen King cuz you got to read the dark but like legitimately he is so wonderful writer and then like later when I was in school grad school for creative writing like you read Stephen King pieces about writing because that's how good he is, but I didn't know that when I was 15 or how old is six nine probably send it for the thrill because you really reading that kind of that kind of stuff but it was the last time I read a book when I was 16 years old. I just can't do it.

26:20 Monitor my reading material at all. So here I am in 8th grade reading the Vampire Lestat. Oh, yeah, me too. Okay. I'm like all that like a horrible like children things through books that you never would otherwise right leg and my parents never ever ever would have right like that was the power of the public library your card that you got everything that was in that build exact and my parents said go see the world there is

27:02 Creepy stuff in it. There's a ugly stuff in it. There's gross stuff in it there sexy stuff in it. There's interesting stuff in it is amazing stuff in it, but learn through books and maybe if you learn through books, you won't make as many mistakes in real life. And I don't know that that's actually born itself out necessarily, but you know, when you grow up into town of 5,000 people, there's not a Brett's of experience there. And so if you want to know about things other than your tiny little sphere, how are you going to find out if it's not for your kind of your ticket to the outside world since I moved around a lot. I went from a town of 1,500 people for the first ten years of my life to a city and its environs the size of a million people the ninth largest city in this country at the time. It's now the seventh largest so it's still grow.

28:02 Wings Over Worcester

28:05 I can't think my parents enough for getting me out of the small-town environment because I didn't fit get me into a bigger city. I'm much better because there's more opportunities to find people that are more like mine didn't some people that kind of challenge your beliefs and Views and make you look at him and go.

28:30 What's with you?

28:33 Even though I mean that's Cedar Rapids is the smallest city that I've lived in my adult life and it's a small town but it has all the benefits of the big city and so like to me it's it's just the right size for right now because we get we get large city culture. We know we've got art museums. We've got the VOD. We've got theater. We've got the Opera. I like we've got a lot of options here, but it's not it's not so exhausting like when I lived in Los Angeles, it's just like, okay. Alright, I'm going to steal myself for my Saturday to go to Ralphs and a Home Depot. I can do both those things in one day and it would take you all day to do those things because the traffic and people are horrible on you just like couldn't get around here. If I had a big deal. We'll just run their but they we also get to have a really cool amazing like big city library exactly.

29:33 I think it's lost on people that live here is yes, it is a smaller City. It doesn't mean you have all the bells and whistles. But you got Kansas City with the driving distance. You got the Twin Cities. You've got Chicago you got s t Louis. So we're kind of in this nice little Center Hub where if you need the big city experience you get there you can get there pretty easily. So

29:59 I don't think we're at is necessarily a disadvantage because you kind of have a smaller town feel here with bigger city accoutrements, but

30:13 It's just a driveway to get that big city feel so and they're all amazing cities with frankly amazing libraries, but none of them can hold a candle to us that know it snows is it what's your favorite part about the Cedar Rapids Public Library? What do you like best about it here only the people that I work with.

30:34 Just because we're all very intelligent people we care. We want to do a good job. We want to provide excellent service. We want to

30:46 Be contributors to our community in a very positive and meaningful way.

30:53 So

30:55 That I think is probably our biggest asset because what's a Library without a good staff? It's just a building with books.

31:04 That's awesome.

31:07 Did I do and I will say the community to like the staff is amazing. But this is a this is a community that uses its Library like it's not like any other place I've ever lived and not like any other library of ever worked in really it is the level of like true Civic engagement that happens here. It's it's why I took the job here when I left. I was never going to come back to Iowa. Why would I come back here? I got out.

31:36 And you know obviously wanted to be a good place for my kids to grow up. And so that changes your your mindset but I remember the day I came for my job interview for for the director job and it was like an all-day thing until like met with staff and then met with the board and the night with a manager isn't it was like broken out and ever breaks during that the full day interview and during one of the breaks. I was just sitting in the little mezzanine staff on the second floor and just kind of taking a minute to collect my thoughts and you know go into the next thing and I just watched what was happening and it was in the meeting rooms. There was the the high school girls like the power of she okay, hun Prince was happening that day and in in another meeting room there was like a some sort of like a community.

32:36 We're going to like my neighborhood that was doing something and they were just people there were people everywhere and there were people who look like they were from everywhere and it was just it was teeming with life and it was such an amazing things ago. This place is alive. This is a live and I want to be part of this life, you know, you got 15 years. I'm only got three but it's it's so alive every day when you come here. It's certainly been an adventure the last 15 years because I've seen tremendous change your number.

33:26 I've now been in three different buildings per say so it's been a different one than I think a lot of librarians typically get because we've had such extraordinary circumstances here.

33:41 But in any Library it is it is change adapt with the times because it has to be these people process information differently than they did 15 years ago. The world is different than it was 15 years ago 20 years ago 35 years ago. I mean we meet we literally have staff right now who have worked at the Cedar Rapids Public Library longer than you and I have been alive. Yes. I'm wondering just like you think about things that they have seen in all that time and it's just amazing when you think about that, but it's also just amazing when you think about the part that we get to experience right now exactly. Has it been better than this. You got to say it just the best time so far. Are you having the best time right now so far? Yes. All right, see if I made you say it but it still counts that's good. So that was amazing. What a wonderful conversation. Thank you so much.

34:41 Thank you. This was definitely an experience to remember.