This year, librarians Brittney Otero and Christina Appleberry have launched new activities offered in the library, including crafts, raffles and clubs to promote reading. Introducing programs like these for students has been a goal of Otero’s since she joined Menlo in 2022 to encourage student engagement with the library. With Appleberry now a part of the library team, they are starting to bring those ideas to life.
Together, Otero and Appleberry are introducing a gallery called Shelf Life, where any member of the Menlo community can display their work. “It’s soliciting collections, artwork and artifacts that people have,” Otero said. “It highlights the interests and passions of members of our communities, and it’s a great catalyst to someone’s story.”
This year, the librarians have also started the Library Loyalty Program, where students receive punch cards and get a hole punched for every 20 minutes they read. Once a card reaches six hours, it is turned into a raffle ticket where students can win gift cards to coffee or boba shops. “Hopefully the program will grow because it means that students are reading, which is the ultimate goal,” Appleberry said.
Before joining Menlo’s library, Appleberry previously worked at Castilleja School and gained a lot of experience leading activities from her time there. “When interviewing to fill the librarian role, I wanted someone who could connect with kids and beef up our programming,” Otero said. “That’s why Ms. Appleberry is a great fit.”
Otero explained that she hopes these activities for the students will encourage a space where kids can destress and take a break from academic intensity. “We feel like libraries have the potential for being a community hub, and our library especially, because we are in the center of campus,” Otero said.
Appleberry echoed that sentiment and emphasized the importance of connection between students. “Everyone knows you can go to the library to get books or help with homework, but [libraries] are also so much more,” she said. “They are very community oriented, and I hope kids think of libraries in bigger ways and as a place where fun things happen.”
Most of the recent initiatives in the library have included different kinds of crafts and art projects, such as a mason jar decorating activity. “Creative self expression is important and I really care about the process, not really the product,” Appleberry said.
Appleberry highlighted how the programs make it easier for students to engage with one another and with the library. “Also, I hope the students want to try more things, and they want to come to the library more.”
The librarians are also looking for ways to involve other Menlo groups into their programs. “We would love to collaborate with affinity groups, clubs and interest groups,” Otero said.
Both Appleberry and Otero have already observed a shift in how students are approaching the library since introducing their initiatives. “I have definitely noticed a change in comfortability and students are getting more familiar with us,” Otero said.
Students have noticed the difference as well, describing the library and its activities as a way to unwind. “[The scrapbooking activity] felt like a complete break from Menlo’s really studious environment,” junior Yuna Lee said. “We were allowed to do anything we wanted creatively and it was a very useful part of my day.”
Both Otero and Appleberry have goals to continue to grow their library programs, hoping to get more inspiration and ideas from students. “The hope is that at some point, our ideas will be more community generated,” Appleberry said. “A good library serves its community and is there to meet their needs of what they want.”
