 Moreland's 11-year career has been crowded with the creation of
imaginative educational reading programs geared to persuade the
young to read.Louella Moreland, affectionately called Ms. Lou
by her young charges at the library, came to the Lincoln Public
Library after a career of teaching. She taught kindergarten and
fourth grade in Lincoln and did a stint at Heartland Community
College.
"My teaching was always oriented toward kids," she said.
Moreland always took children's literature classes. While at
Heartland, she worked with the Lincoln Public Library children's
librarian. When that librarian announced her retirement,
Moreland, with the encouragement of her husband, applied for the
position. She was hired by Richard Sumrall, library director.
And with that, things began to change quickly at the library.
The first change was the elimination of the term "children's
program" to become "youth services." Moreland raised three
children, and with insight into the minds of teens, she felt
that referring to a teen as a child would be off-putting to
them.
Moreland wanted all age groups to feel welcome at the
library. She even moved the teen young adult book section to a
different area of the library Annex, away from the preschool and
grade school sections and closer to the general book stacks.
When asked what changes she is most proud of, the first one
Ms. Lou mentions is the outreach program. Until her tenure as
youth services director, kids had to come to the library to
participate in reading programs, accompanied by their parents,
of course.
A quick assessment of library reading programs for preschool
and school-age kids showed that attendance had been declining
for several years. Ms. Lou's discernment was that kids could not
come to the library during the day because of school or day
care, and parents could only bring them after they got home from
work. Parents had duties at home in the evening, and a trip to
the library was not always possible.
What to do? Well, if the kids could not come to the library,
then Ms. Lou was determined to take the library to the kids.
Thus began an extremely popular library service with members of
the youth services staff going to the schools in Lincoln with
age-appropriate programs.
"I want the schoolchildren to associate books with the
library," Ms. Lou said, "and it is very important that the
association be made as early as possible."
Ms. Lou and her staff travel to preschool programs monthly
with story times, serving six Head Start programs and Little
Lambs Day Care. The fifth-grade class at Central School welcomes
"Book Talks" with library staff into their classroom, as do
seventh- and eighth-grade classes at the junior high. The
"Reading Is Fundamental" program, another Lincoln Public Library
outreach, is available in all local schools.
In addition, classroom teachers contact the library with
requests to bring their classes to the library for field trips.
"My door is always open to teachers," said Moreland. This
attitude has brought a constant stream of classes to the library
to enjoy the innovative programs available.
When asked why she is passionate about making a connection
between kids and reading and the library, Moreland said, "I am
absolutely convinced that reading is essential to academic
success."
Her days have been filled with brainstorming with her staff
of three about how to further spread the word about the library,
books and the fun of reading programs that are available, and
creating new programs. Ms. Lou is adamant that the success of
the youth services at the library is a collaborative endeavor
between her, the library director and, as she puts it, "my
absolutely essential staff."
She describes Cindy Harris as the collection guru who can
find any book, even if only a small description is available.
Marlene Perry was her first assistant when Ms. Lou came to the
library. Moreland says that while she can come up with a program
idea, Perry is a creative genius who can take the idea from
concept to actual program. Deb Owens is the Lapsit facilitator
and also works with the arts and crafts programs.
Why arts and crafts in a library? Well, because it gets kids
into the library, where they are surrounded by books. The
excitement of an arts and crafts event just reinforces the
children's love for the library, according to Ms. Lou. She is
Lincoln's Pied Piper, leading kids to the library and reading,
which will ensure a lifetime of learning and the just plain
pleasure of reading a book.
While she is justifiably proud of the library's outreach
program, she also mentions the summer reading program as one of
her signature events.
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 The youth services staff partners with all of the Lincoln schools
to choose books for their students to read over the school break in
the summer. The schools set the goals for the number of books for
students as a whole to read during the summer; the library tracks
the individual reading success; and the schools receive a prize for
attaining their goals. The library even keeps individual reading
records from years past so that students can review their reading
history. The book assignments are all age-appropriate.
Ms. Lou is emphatic that the summer reading program is not a
competition. Students chose books they are comfortable with and set
their own goals. The teen readers have a party when they achieve a
goal. Read books and have a pizza party! What an enticement to read.
Several local summer day care organizations include visits to the
library as part of their daily routine, including the Methodist
church and the YMCA.
For those youngsters not yet able to read, goals are set for the
number of books that parents read to their young ones. Ms. Lou is
emphatic that reading to youngsters is essential and makes a family
connection to reading. "If parents read to kids, the kids are more
likely to become readers," she said.
Of course, one essential part of the summer reading program is
the Thursday morning entertainment throughout the summer. There have
been magicians and clowns and puppets and wild animals of all kinds.
To see a roomful of young readers sitting on the floor of the
library Annex absolutely mesmerized by the performers is a special
moment. The parents are taken up with the moment also, as evidenced
by their smiles and giggles during the performance.
What type of person is Louella Moreland?
Well, when asked if she had read a particular book about an
aspect of southern Illinois history, she replied: "I read 30
children's books a week. I don't have time for adult books." With a
chuckle she added: "Maybe after I retire." She maintains that she
will never offer a book to her young readers that she has not read
first.
Ms. Lou is a person who says her office chair is often occupied
by youngsters whose parents have brought them to the library just to
see their favorite librarian. She is a person who describes her
littlest followers as knee-huggers, and that brings a big smile to
her face.
She is a person who, when cruising through the grocery store,
will have a young library patron come up to her and say hello.
She is a person who, when it is time to gather the little ones in
the library Annex for a Lapsit session, will sing to the youngsters,
calling them to gather with their parents to delve into another
fascinating book.
That is the kind of person Louella Moreland is.
She is so passionate about reading and the library that her
family caught the library fever. Her son donated the first three
Lego sets that started the extremely popular Lego program at the
library every January. Her husband has donated prizes for the summer
reading program. When her middle daughter was on an overseas study
program in Spain and took a side trip to Morocco, she sent a
"Franklin the Turtle" children's book written in Arabic for display
in the library, thus showing that childhood reading is valued all
over the world.
A family friend and artist volunteered to paint the mural that
adorns a wall in the youth area of the Annex — a terrific work of
art. Hannah VanSlambrouck had Ms. Lou for her kindergarten and
fourth-grade teacher and has followed her to the library. Hannah is
now a library employee in the Annex.
That is the kind of person Louella Moreland is.
Sumrall, the library director, said: "She has done a remarkable
job. Her public programs are some of the finest offered to the
community. She is going to be missed, hard to replace. The kids will
remember her fondly."
That is the kind of person Louella Moreland is.
The annual and very popular Lego tournament will take place in
the Lincoln Public Library Annex on Jan. 18 from 9:30 to 11 a.m.
That will be the last youth services event under the direction of
Louella Moreland.
Ms. Lou has the last word about her 11 years as the youth
services director at the Lincoln Public Library. "This has been a
wonderful way to end a working career," she said.
[By CURT FOX]
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