One of the things I love most about this series is getting to showcase the many ways librarianship looks in practice, especially the work that often goes unseen. So much of what makes libraries work isn’t flashy. It’s relationship-building, improvising, community listening, and showing up. Sometimes, it’s also keeping bubbles and sidewalk chalk in your car at all times… just in case.
This month’s Library Voices: Unfiltered features Lizzie Gnecco, Youth Services Coordinator at Perkiomen Valley Library at Schwenksville, a branch of Norristown Public Library serving seven municipalities in a suburban-rural community. Lizzie came to libraries after a career in early childhood education and stepped into a brand new youth services position where there had been no previous children’s staff.
That alone will sound familiar to many librarians.
Building something from the ground up—often with limited resources and little roadmap—is something a lot of us know intimately. What stood out to me in talking with Lizzie is how much of her work is grounded in care, flexibility, and relationships.
(there’s that word again!)
When we talked about community engagement, Lizzie offered one of my favorite lines in this whole interview:
“Online surveys were a bust.”
I laughed. Because… yes.
And then she followed it with something important:
“Talking with people while they browse or attend programs has been much more insightful.”
There it is again. Relationships. Listening. Conversation as assessment.
(read more about interacting and assessing your patrons HERE)
I also appreciated Lizzie’s thoughtful comments about inclusive programming and her decision not to offer Christmas programs.
“Thinking back to my career in education, it has been considered best practice to ensure our programs… reflect the children in our class and community.”
That grounding matters. This isn’t a surface-level programming choice—it’s rooted in her early childhood education background, where reflecting the identities and lived experiences of children and families is core practice.
She went on to say:
“There is a difference between planning a library event based on one religion versus a connected community sharing their own traditions.”
That’s thoughtful librarianship, and I appreciated hearing there hasn’t been backlash. Just community-centered winter programming everyone can enjoy.
Winter bingo.
Hot cocoa bar.
Gingerbread scavenger hunt.
Joy can be inclusive.
Another part of our conversation that deserves more attention was Lizzie naming how much other systems now lean on libraries.
She shared how therapists use their children’s space for early intervention sessions because other agencies don’t offer spaces.
“It’s a problem all across our county.”
I hear versions of this from librarians all the time. Libraries as safety net. Libraries absorbing gaps. Libraries doing more and more. Libraries as a third space.
We need to keep talking about that.
When asked what libraries need to do better:
“I wish library systems were better at training leadership/managers…”
And then she got wonderfully practical:
“How to interview.”
“How to orient and train new staff.”
“Giving meaningful feedback.”
“There should be a manual of some sort…”
You nailed this part—because what she’s naming is something many of us have experienced across the field.
Libraries (and similarly, early childhood education) offer strong pathways for developing skills to do the work—serving children, building programs, supporting families. But as people grow into leadership roles, that next layer of training isn’t always as clearly defined or consistently supported.
Management is a skill set. And it’s one that often gets learned on the job.
And then there are the quotes that just perfectly capture youth services life.
For me, it was this one:
“When all else fails, I have bubbles and sidewalk chalk in my car at all times now.”
I want that on a t-shirt.
What I kept coming back to throughout this conversation is how much Lizzie’s work centers one simple but powerful belief: relationships come first.
With children.
With caregivers.
With colleagues.
With community partners.
That isn’t separate from strong youth services. It is strong youth services.
Thank you, Lizzie. Bravo!!
If you’d like your story featured on my blog, I’d love to hear from you – the good, the bad, and the ugly! Just fill out the form HERE and I’ll be in touch!
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