By Martie Thompson
editor@floridanewsline.com
Stephanie Rennells said she has always been a voracious reader, so it’s little surprise that she would become a librarian. She was born in Madison Heights, Virginia, in the Blue Ridge Mountains, but moved to Jacksonville as a teenager with her family in order to be closer to extended family. She graduated from Wolfson High School and the University of North Florida and said she considers herself a “bona fide Jacksonvillian.” She serves as a Customer Experience Associate in Youth Services at the South Mandarin Branch of the Jacksonville Public Library and believes that the library can connect people to resources in many different ways, even beyond books. Stephanie is a “proud auntie” to nephews Michael and Alex, and she and her husband Andrew live with their two rescue cats, Ori and Arty.
Q: Did you always want to be a librarian?
A: I’ve always been a big reader, from a really young age. Big surprise! The librarian likes to read. In college I was taking philosophy classes and considered law school. Once I realized what the day-to-day life of a lawyer entailed, I thought it might be too isolating for me, because I really enjoy people and building relationships. After graduation from UNF, I worked in retail for a while and it clicked that working at a library could be just what I was looking for. I put in my application in late 2020, interviewed in early 2021, and have worked at South Mandarin Library ever since. I love going to work every day. We have a wonderful community and I’m very attached to our patrons.
Q: How did you meet your husband?
A: We met in the break room while we both worked seasonally at Target. We bonded over our love of board games and video games. We’ve been together eight years and were married in Silver Springs State Park in Ocala in March 2020. When we arrived for our wedding, they told us that just that morning, they were shutting down communal parts of the park due to the new pandemic. We really had to scramble, but luckily we had a small wedding. We were supposed to get married on one of the glass bottom boats, but found a small amphitheater we could use instead. We also had to postpone our honeymoon.
Q: What does your job as a youth librarian entail and what is your favorite part?
A: I interact with patrons of all ages, but mostly children and teens in my position. We plan events, both educational and casual, drop-in type events that are conceived at the branch level. We make inviting book displays. We try to get people into the library and to love the library as we support their literary goals and life-long learning goals. There is something special to me about going to work at the library each day. I love my coworkers and the people who come in that we get to know. The library does great work for the community and I love the influence we have, especially on kids and teens.
Q: What does the South Mandarin Library offer for teens?
A: We are very lucky at our branch that we have a great community of teens who come in for our programs. We have a weekly game day on Tuesday evenings that gives teens the chance to connect with other teens. A lot of our teens have become volunteers at the library, which is important for Bright Futures scholarships, and every other Friday our Teen Advisory Board meets for fun activities. For instance, one time the teens built mini catapults after reading about them in the Percy Jackson series of books.
Q: What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
A: Besides reading, I enjoy having friends over to play board games and card games. And I love getting to know our patrons and watch the kids who come to the library grow up. Some who start as toddlers in our storytime programs are now teens getting their Bright Futures volunteer hours.
Photo courtesy Stephanie Rennells
Stephanie Rennells
