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Schell helps keep Midland Library relevant, real (cont'd)

Pageturners
Schell said there are two book groups that gather at the library to discuss a book that all have read ahead of time. Both are known by the program name Pageturners.

“I lead the two book groups,” said Schell.

One group meets in the afternoon, composed of predominately retired individuals, mostly women.

“That group is large,” Schell said, “and they are very expressive. They give their opinions, and it’s very fun. Some people have lots of opinions, other people don’t say very much, but it’s a good group because people like both interacting and listening to what other people think about a particular book.”

Another Pageturners group meets during the evening.

“This group attracts a little bit different gathering,” she said. The evening group includes retirees, but also “people who are still working, and most of these people don’t have very young children and are at an age when they can get out in the evening,” she said. “These are people who enjoy reading, they enjoy discussing books. They, again, have lots of opinions.”

Schell’s involved
Schell stays connected to the community in a number of ways.
“I’ve been involved with the Gateway Area Business Association for many years,” she said. “I enjoy meeting the businesspeople in this area, working on civic projects.” She said she’s enthusiastic about promoting the business and residential communities around the library, making it a more livable place, “because this is where I work.”

Schell has served as the GABA secretary, vice president and twice president, in 1998 and 1999. She was on the board of directors for GABA for 14 years. “I feel I have very strong ties to that business association,” Schell said of GABA. Named Citizen of the Year by GABA in 2002, Schell admitted, “That was very special for me.”

She is on the board of directors for the Midway Business Association and serves as the secretary. “That is a small organization,” she said, “but it’s growing and getting more and more businesses involved.”

Schell said she’s also been active with a group called Jane’s Park Committee. The committee is named in memory of the late Jane Baker, the Mid-Multnomah County civic activist who championed improvements to adjacent Midland Park.

“This is a group that’s taken an interest in Midland Park, located right behind the Midland Library,” Schell detailed. She said the group has been instrumental in improving the park and working with Portland Parks & Recreation. She said Midland Library has co-sponsored several events with Jane’s Park Committee, and that the committee also was a part of last month’s celebration of the 10-year anniversary of the opening of the new Midland Library building. Schell said members of Jane’s Park Committee helped children make birdhouses for Midland Park during the celebration.

Schell is also an active member of the Oregon Library Association, an association that includes representatives from all the libraries in the state. A member since she began working for the Multnomah County Library system, Schell was on the board of directors for the Public Library Division of the Oregon Library Association for four years and served as the division’s vice president and president.

Just for kids
“We have many, many children’s programs,” Schell said, “and we’ve always had a partnership with the local schools. Our youth librarians go out to the schools and give book talks to the children.

“Children come into our library to get books for reading,” she added, “and they also use the library to help them with their school projects. Our librarians are trained to help people of all ages.”

One important program at the Midland Library consists of story times for children.

Book Babies are stories read to children from newborn to 12 months old; Tiny Tots is for children 12 to 24 months of age; Toddler Storytime is for children 24 to 36 months; and Preschool Storytime is for children 3 to 6 years old. Another story time, meant for children of all ages, is given in Spanish and English each Sunday.

“I brought my children to story times when they were little,” Schell said. “Now my children bring their children to story times, and they go to the Hollywood Library. This is a tradition that lives on.

“Story times is an opportunity for children who don’t go to school,” she said. “It’s a chance for them to learn to listen, to participate and to love reading. This is very important for our community.”

In addition to story times for children, the Midland Library features a professional performer for children at monthly reading, music, or theater events.

“They do something out of the ordinary,” she said, “something you’re not going to see on television. It’s a live program, so it’s special for children. That’s one of the things our library brings to the community, something that most children would never, ever get otherwise.”

Also, there’s Story Stop, featured Monday through Saturday from 1:30 to 1:45 p.m., where one of the librarians will read a story for any children in the library. It’s meant for children newborn to 6 years old.

The children’s Summer Reading program, which just concluded, is also a highlight at the Midland Library.

“This is a great program,” she expounded, “that encourages children to read during the summer months when school is closed.” Schell said that over 50 percent of the children in Multnomah County signed up this past summer for the children’s Summer Reading program at the various branches of the Multnomah County Library system.

At the Midland Library, over 4,600 children and teenagers signed up for the Summer Reading program that ended in August.

“If they finish the Summer Reading program,” she said, “they are entitled to get a T-shirt or a coupon toward a book at a local book store.” Schell commended the business community’s support of the program. “It’s a big incentive,” she said, “and it’s involved many businesses in Portland as sponsors. The whole community has been involved in making sure that our children continue reading.”

Multicultural haven
The Au Co Vietnamese group performs last month during the celebration for the 10th anniversary of the opening of the new Midland Library.
MEMO PHOTO: TIM CURRAN
We live in a multicultural world, and the Midland Library is cognizant of that fact.

“We have added resources for learning English for our immigrant population,” she said. “That’s one of our goals: To make sure that everybody that walks into the library is served, and will get the information that they need.”

Schell said the Midland Library has added bilingual staff during the past several years.

“We have three bilingual Spanish speakers,” she said of her staff, “and one new bilingual Russian speaker.

“Our bilingual speakers,” she added, “are very helpful when we are trying to interact with the new immigrants that are coming to the community. We of course want to help them find information they need, and for them to learn about the United States and the culture.”

Schell said the Midland Library has created partnerships with a variety of organizations in the community, including the county’s Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization. Last year the Midland Library conducted special computer classes for IRCO’s clients.

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