One of my favorite parts of writing this series is getting to step outside my own experience and sit with someone else’s story for a while.
Every librarian I interview reminds me that while our communities may look different, so many of our challenges—and hopes—overlap.
Some of us serve cities. Some of us serve rural communities. Some of us work in libraries with a large staff and healthy budgets.
Others are stretching every dollar, moving furniture ourselves, writing grants after hours, answering emails on weekends, and trying to make sure people still feel welcomed through the doors.
This month’s conversation is with Christinna Swearingen, Director of Rusk County Community Library in northwestern Wisconsin.
Christinna serves a city of approximately 3,400 residents within a larger rural service area of roughly 14,000 people spread across the county. Her work spans administration, programming, advocacy, access initiatives, community partnerships, and the constant balancing act of meeting needs with limited resources.
As I read through her responses, I kept coming back to something she said early in our conversation:
“We are more than books and will always be more than books.”
That sentence became the thread that tied this entire interview together.
Because this conversation isn’t only about programs.
It’s about what libraries become when communities need more.
Building a Library Around Real Community Needs
When Christinna stepped into her role in 2021, there was no adult programming.
Looking at the demographics around her, she knew that it needed to change.
About a third of the population she serves is retired. At the same time, the county faces significant challenges, including poverty, limited transportation, food insecurity, and fewer educational and recreational opportunities.
Rather than viewing those realities as limitations, she viewed them as information.
Information about where the library could step in.
One of her first approaches was surprisingly simple.
She started showing up.
“I was the person who walked into every room I entered in this city with a business card and handed out my information to anyone who would take it and encouraged them to let me know if they were interested in teaching a program, knew someone else who would, or were just interested in hosting.”
She laughed about being an introvert while describing it.
“It was a million times over when it came to being out of my comfort zone, but it was darn effective.”
So many of my favorite programs didn’t begin with a giant strategic plan—they began with conversations and building relationships with the people and families in the community.
A school partner.
A local business.
A parent.
I think sometimes we underestimate how much community work still comes back to relationship-building.
Consistency Builds Community More Than Perfection
When we talk about successful programs online, we often highlight the big moments.
Packed events.
Creative themes.
Huge attendance.
But Christinna’s answer to what worked surprised me. Her longest-running and most successful program?
A walking group.
Every Wednesday for three years.
That’s it.
“Quite a few of my longest-running programs were simply because I noticed that this one patron continued to come and if that person was getting something out of it, then it was worth the time to do it.”
She described how participants—many of whom were isolated or new to the community—formed friendships through something incredibly simple.
“It’s amazing the impact that just doing the same thing on the same day can have sometimes.”
And then she said something I immediately made note of.
“When you find someone who is bonkers over it, it is all so very worth it to bring a smile to their face and show them that they aren’t alone in this very isolating and divided world in which we currently dwell.”
I think librarians need to hear that more.
Attendance isn’t always the only measure of success. Sometimes serving one person consistently matters more than serving fifty once.
Libraries Continue Expanding Because Communities Need Them To
If you’ve followed Youth Services Playbook for a while, you know I talk a lot about libraries becoming more than books.
Whether that’s creating Library of Things collections (a post is coming on that, soon!), offering community partnerships, hosting life skills programs, or developing spaces that meet emerging needs—we evolve.
Christinna’s library reflects that evolution.
She introduced technology and digital literacy classes, prioritized free programming, and partnered across departments.
She developed a free pantry initiative after seeing food access challenges worsen in the area.
When local resources disappeared, she started pursuing grants.
Eventually, support came through the American Heart Association.
That effort became more than food distribution. It became a way to gather real-time data around food insecurity and respond intentionally.
When I asked what role libraries play in meeting community needs right now, her answer was thoughtful—and honest.
“I truly do think that the nature of libraries is to evolve with the times.”
But she also offered something I think many librarians quietly feel.
“It can be a source of frustration that municipalities let the library be everything to everyone.”
She talked openly about aging buildings, limited budgets, small staff, and growing expectations.
And yet—
Libraries still show up.
“In spite of all that is against us, we make do and make it better.”
That line stayed with me because I think many librarians know exactly what she means.
Protecting Privacy Means Standing Firm
One topic Christinna wishes more people talked about?
Patron privacy.
She described situations where law enforcement requested access to library camera footage.
Her response was direct.
“Our patrons have a right to privacy, and I don’t take that lightly.”
She explained that while libraries absolutely cooperate through appropriate legal processes, she believes libraries should not offer unrestricted access simply because someone asks.
“We are here to make sure that we are giving our community the space to just be, not govern them or take their autonomous privacy away.”
Libraries have always protected intellectual freedom.
Privacy is part of that work.
Building for the Future (Literally)
One accomplishment Christinna is especially proud of is helping make her library the first municipal building in the county with solar panels.
The project began through a conversation with Foundation President Jim Kurz. What followed was years of approvals, coordination, and persistence.
Sadly, Jim passed before seeing the completed project, but the community finished it in his honor.
Today, the panels offset approximately 85% of the library’s electric bill and earned a regional Green Award.
What struck me most wasn’t the numbers. It was how she framed the project.
Not as savings.
As legacy.
“I hope to tie this into community education in the future to impart knowledge…about green energy and the impact that it has on us and the generations that we leave behind.”
Speaking Up—and Why Silence Matters
This next section is harder.
And important.
When I asked what libraries need to do better, Christinna didn’t hesitate:
“Be better at advocating for one another.”
Later in our conversation, she expanded on that.
She spoke candidly about experiencing racial discrimination early in her career and how isolating it felt afterward.
What stayed with her wasn’t only what happened. It was who stayed silent.
She shared:
“We need other librarians to help us carry this heavy, heavy burden or more of us will leave.”
She spoke about performative support versus public support.
About what happens when people privately agree something is wrong but never say it out loud.
About the emotional toll of carrying those experiences alone.
I’m not going to overinterpret her words. She shared them for a reason. But I will say this.
This section hit me harder than I expected.
Not because our stories are identical. They aren’t.
But because I think many librarians know what it feels like to quietly carry difficult experiences while trying to remain professional.
To wonder whether speaking up makes you “difficult.”
To question yourself.
To keep going anyway.
Libraries talk often about creating safe spaces for communities.
That work should extend inward too.
Leadership Isn’t Always What People Think
When people imagine library leadership, they often imagine meetings, planning, and strategic decisions.
Christinna described something more human.
“Even though we might seem fine, we aren’t always okay.”
She talked about burnout. Managing an ill partner. Parenting. Late-night messages. Board dynamics. Advocating repeatedly. Holding emotional weight while still showing up for staff and community.
She also said something that I suspect many library leaders will recognize:
“No one sees how hard it can be.”
Leadership is often invisible work. And invisible work still costs energy.
What Keeps Her Going
After everything we discussed, I asked what keeps her motivated.
Her answer brought the conversation full circle.
“I love being a librarian and I want to make sure that it is always a treasured part of the community.”
“My daughters…need to always remember that they are worthy of everything that they can glean from life and to always use their voice, even if it shakes.”
When I asked what gives her hope, she quoted Mr. Rogers:
“Look for the helpers.”
And she reminded me that there are still many good people doing good work.
Final Thoughts
If there’s one thing I hope readers take away from Christinna’s story, it’s this:
Libraries do extraordinary work, but librarians are human.
Many of us are carrying more than people realize.
Some of us are quietly building programs from nothing.
Some are advocating in difficult systems.
Some are protecting patron rights.
Some are grieving.
Some are exhausted.
Some are wondering if anyone notices.
And some may be reading this and seeing themselves in these words.
If that’s you—I hope you know your story matters, too.
You do not have to carry it silently.
Want to share your own Library Voices: Unfiltered story?
I’m continuing this series because I believe librarians deserve space to talk honestly about leadership, burnout, innovation, community work, workplace culture, advocacy, rebuilding, and everything in between.
If you’d like to be featured, I’d love to hear from you.
→ Complete the Library Voices: Unfiltered form HERE, and I will reach out with some follow-up questions via email.
Long live the public library.
And long live the people who keep showing up for it.
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