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For Madelynn Johnson, working in a library is more than a job; it’s a way to give back to the community she has loved since childhood. True to this mission, this С��Ƭ��Ƶ student recently helped make public library access available to every student at an Akron elementary school.

Johnson, a junior early childhood education major, worked alongside Chelsea Pisani, a С��Ƭ��Ƶ double alumna and intermediate/teen librarian at the Maple Valley Library in Akron. Together, Johnson and Pisani worked to ensure every student at Schumacher Community Learning Center had a physical public library card.

The initiative grew out of an effort to reach more children during September’s Library Card Sign-up Month. Pisani’s previous efforts were good, but she realized there was an opportunity to reach more families.

“For Library Card Sign-up Month, I wanted to do something fun for the kids. I traditionally do a pizza party. You come in and get a library card, fill out a raffle ticket. If you’re drawn, the whole class gets a pizza party,” Pisani told С��Ƭ��Ƶ Today. “But then I saw that I’m not getting as many kids and getting the same kids every time.”  

Pisani and Johnson extended learning beyond campus borders to empower young readers by breaking down barriers to literacy and creating educational access in local neighborhoods. These Golden Flashes are living the university’s commitment to making a positive, lasting community impact.

Pisani wanted to take a different approach by working directly with the school. Getting students to the library, where they could explore its resources and check out books, was critical. But then, so was having a library card.

“The school wants to start doing free field trips to the library, which will make sense if the kids have library cards and can check out books,” Pisani said. “We partnered with their principal, and she sent me the class rosters. Madelynn does all the library card sign-ups at our branch, making sure they’re all correct. So, Maddie and I teamed up, and we went class by class, typed each kid’s name in to see if they already had a card or not, and if they didn't, we made them one.”

Johnson brought previous library experience to the project. Before joining the Maple Valley Branch Library, she worked at another library for 3.5 years. Her connection to libraries, however, goes back much further.

“I’ve been familiar with libraries. My mom was a librarian, so I grew up going to the library, and I grew up going to Akron libraries. I was always waiting to work at Akron because I love it. I love the area and the library. I’m very happy to be working here,” Johnson said.

For Johnson, the project was an opportunity to put that connection into practice by helping children access a resource that had been part of her own life growing up.

“It’s very nice that I’m able to go to work and feel like I’m actively helping the community and feel like I’m making a change,” Johnson said.

Pamela Takayoshi, professor of English at С��Ƭ��Ƶ, heard about Johnson’s work when the two spoke after class. Takayoshi said she was excited to learn about the initiative and the opportunities it could create for students.

“I just think that the idea of having this whole school of kids have that access to the library,” Takayoshi said, “and to know and experience what it means to be in the library and how it can connect them to so many worlds is so valuable.”

After finalizing the rosters near the end of August, the project was complete.

“I was entering the very last card, and I was like, ‘Maddie, we did it!’” Pisani said. “Now they will be the only Akron public school between elementary and high school where 100% of their students have physical public library cards.”

The library hopes to build on the initiative in the coming years, tackling different schools in the area.

“Next September, we want to get the middle school, and then the following year we will do the high school,” Pisani said. “We also have another elementary school nearby that is a private school, but we really want to tackle Akron Public Schools first.”

Learn more about the Early Childhood Education program at С��Ƭ��Ƶ.