By Anthony Stanford –
Aurora Public Library (APL) recently hired Stephanie Brandwein as the new teen librarian at the Richard and Gina Santori Public Library of Aurora. With Stephanie on board, all three APL locations have teen librarians. Flannery Crump serves as the teen librarian at Eola Road Branch and Pat Schwartz functions in that capacity at West Branch.
Stephanie is looking forward to collaborating with her teen librarian counterparts and to get busy working on building relationships with APL teen customers and assessing their needs. In fact, she hit the ground running and is already at work organizing a teen study session and evaluating other areas of opportunity to introduce teen-focused programming.
She has a master’s degree in library and information science from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and a bachelor of arts from Ashford University. Working with teens isn’t new to her, who most recently served as a teen specialist at the Addison Public Library for more than two years.
Flannery Crump, who serves as the teen librarian at the Eola Road Branch, talked about the collaborating possibilities. She said, “I look forward to working together with Stephanie on providing support, education, and entertainment for the teens of Aurora. Together as a team of teen librarians, we will continue to offer programs and services that are specifically targeted at our community and their needs. We love helping teens in whatever way we can; providing homework help, or just a fun activity to help them de-stress after a long day at school!”
What’s apparent about Stephanie is an attribute that is recognizable among teen librarians. Similar to Flannery and Pat, Stephanie is enthusiastic and has a knack for feeling the pulse of teen customers, exactly what’s needed to design and implement innovative programming that captures and holds the attention of the teen demographic.
With unbridled optimism, and coming at a time when teen services are exploding, Stephanie Brandwein talked about her new role: “I am excited to bring my experiences working with a diverse group of teens in Addison to the Santori Library. I plan to work with the Teen Advisory Board and build positive relationships with the teens and create programs that meet their unique needs and interests. This library has an amazing teen space and teen programming room, and I am looking forward to serving as the Santori teen librarian.”
APL executive director Daisy Porter-Reynolds talked enthusiastically about Stephanie’s joining the APL team. “I’m so excited to have Stephanie on board. She’s bringing innovative ideas for services and programs to teens and we’re looking forward to revitalizing our relationship with this important age group.”
Anthony Stanford is an author and Aurora Public Library media consultant.