Whitaker joins library staff
LeAnna Whitaker is now working as youth services librarian at Madison Public Library (CONTRIBUTED)
MADISON – LeAnna Whitaker has joined the staff of Madison Public Library as a youth services librarian.
Whitaker was interested in the slot because it uses her specialization of working with youth, and she wanted to return to the Huntsville area from Champaign, Ill. A Monrovia native, she considered moving closer to family as a major incentive.
“My main priorities as youth services librarian are planning and implementing programs for children and teens, networking with local schools and community organizations, purchasing and maintaining materials and assisting patrons” in searches for materials, Whitaker said.
Whitaker has started a beginning music class for kindergartners through second-graders. In August, the music program will expand to two sessions per month. “It has been a great success,” Whitaker said.
Whitaker is spearheading a tabletop gaming program with adult services librarian Amanda Campbell. Teen patrons have been enjoying the gaming on Monday and Thursday nights.
For “Demo Day” on July 5, “we provided 12 tabletop board games for teen and adult patrons to explore,” Whitaker said. Attendance was “healthy. If interest levels keep rising, Amanda and I hope to offer weekly gaming programs.”
In addition, the library has 12 ukuleles. Six of the instruments circulate so patrons can practice at home. Whitaker is learning to play to mentor youngsters.
She and youth services librarian Maggie Allen are incorporating singing, movement and steady rhythms with instruments in storytimes, offered seven times weekly. “We’ll also start a teen painting class this fall, (hopefully) twice a month,” Whitaker said.
Whitaker earned a bachelor’s degree in music education at the University of Alabama in Huntsville and a master’s degree in library and information science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
During graduate school, she worked as a library page at Champaign Public Library and as a children’s intern at the Urbana Free Library.
During free time, she enjoys reading, singing, tabletop gaming and binge watching shows on Netflix.
Madison Public Library’s address is 130 Plaza Blvd. For more information, call 256-461-0046.
