Interview with Annette Bramstedt, Assistant Director at the Hudson Public Library

Post date: May 11, 2013 4:59:44 PM

Annette Bramstedt – Assistant Director at the Hudson Public Library

· How did you get into the library field/what made you want to become a librarian?

Fell into it – went to school for a while to be a teacher and hated it and hated my first experiences in the classroom. Was already half-way through my history degree and had already worked in a library before and liked it so I got my degree in History & English and went all the way through that while still working at libraries. It’s one of the few things you can do with the degree besides retail. Plus I liked kids and old people and helping people find things.

· Where did you earn your Masters degree?

University of Iowa

· What was your specialization/concentration and why?

Special Collections and Archives – Library school gives you the ability to emphasize but doesn’t pigeon-hole you to a specific area of study because you get business, computer skills, education, and a little bit of book stuff all in one degree.

· What is your favorite job or task at this particular library?

The PR and making newsletters for events/programs

· What opportunities do you have for advancement in your position?

Not much. Director? Don’t want to. Not many opportunities in this certain position. Why not director? Don’t want to do paperwork. I’m trained to do it in case Mary [the current Hudson Public Library director] needs to leave for a little while, but I don’t want to do it all the time. If I did in 20 years then it would be because of the higher salary.

· Have you ever dealt with censorship challenges at your library? If so, what were the outcomes or what procedures do you have in place to deal with it?

Have a detailed policy – see attached. We buy based on reviews or people have requested the item so not every book appeals to each person. Someone, somewhere wanted to read this. Usually challenged here for homosexual content or bad language. Can I help you find something you would prefer instead? (ex: Christian fiction, etc.) Once, someone filled out a complaint and I filled out the policy. Pulled the book, gave to director with form, had board meeting – board members read book, make a ruling. In this example was kept in collection. IF was in Easy or YA would have been moved to Adult section but was already there so was kept. Had star reviews and collection is for everyone, not for certain people.

· What sort of child-specific programming does your library have?

Storytime, after school activities, early out events, special programs like Fancy Nancy parties, teddy bear tea or sleepovers, superhero parties, summer library program for teens, k-6, and early literacy, Hudson days is a family program – puppets this year, mimes and special actors, Dr. Seuss was here this year.

· Do you offer classes or programs for the public on new technologies such as e-readers or skill advancement such as resume writing?

Resume writing class is coming up, Learning Express has all sorts of computer classes. We don’t teach actual classes on e-readers typically. We can’t get people in at the same time and don’t have time for lesson plans. We do have help sheets and help on-demand when anyone needs help. Had program to teach people on Thursdays that we would be on hand to help if they had problems. They could do the class at home too and then come ask questions on Thursdays. The population doesn’t make a lesson plan worth it. They can make appointments with us as well.

· Are there teen-specific programs to encourage their coming into the library more often?

Currently no, but we’ve tried in the past and this summer we’ll have an after-hours program. We do movies occasionally but this town offers a lot of activities so they’re usually too busy to come in. Looking to make a better space for teens possibly after the summer library program.

· What is the mission statement of your library? Do you have specific goals or focuses?

Yes – don’t know them off hand but we have a statement. [see attached] I also set personal goals; last year was to get a better relationship with the kids but this year I haven’t had time to yet. Maybe after the Summer Reading Program.

· How well would you say that your library tries to stick to the rules and principles of the ALA and of the ALA Bill of Rights?

Pretty strenuous. It is a library run by two degree’d librarians so we stick to it pretty well.

On becoming a librarian – Continuing education is more important than grad school, although that gives you a specific outlook on things and you can use that knowledge for other things. Continuing education has helped me more than grad school though for this position.

Conclusion:

Working with Annette has been wonderful because I can always ask her questions about anything, just as about library school. Being only six years older than me, she has gone through everything recently so she is able to put my questions into a current context in terms of what library education is doing and she gives me an idea of what I could be doing in the near future. This interview gave me a lot to think about, especially when she noted that if I plan to stay in a smaller area, it is not cost effective to actually go to graduate school for library sciences. I’ve decided that I might be moving to a larger area sooner than I was expecting to and I’ve been researching more of the job opportunities.