Jonathan Nichols is new Youth Services head
Published in the July 27, 2016 edition
JONATHAN NICHOLS is settling in as the head of youth services for the Lynnfield Public Library. (Dan Tomasello Photo)
By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — Jonathan Nichols feels right at home as the Lynnfield Public Library’s new head of Youth Services.
Nichols began his tenure at the library in April, succeeding former Head of Youth Services Laura Brosnan. He said he has enjoyed working with local children, adolescents, parents and the library’s staff for the past three months.
“I love the library and working in this community,” said Nichols. “I am really fortunate to be working here.”
Nichols previously worked at the Newton Free Library for three years and worked for the Central Arkansas Library System for seven years. After working in Arkansas, Nichols decided he wanted to work in library management and got his master’s degree in Library Science from Simmons College.
“I have always wanted to work with children,” said Nichols. “When I went to college, I was a double major in English and art. I really thought I was going to be a teacher and I wanted to be an AP (Advanced Placement) English teacher in high school. But there were a lot of hoops to jump through and there were issues that prohibit flexibility and creativity when it comes to reaching kids, which is what I wanted. When I got my first job out of college as a children’s programmer, I got the library bug because I could directly influence kids’ lives through the library. Ever since then, I have never looked back.”
Since beginning in Lynnfield, Nichols has worked to expand the library’s programs for children and adolescents.
“I have done programming for all ages over the course of my professional career,” said Nichols. “When I came here, the library didn’t have a head of youth services for about eight months and they had to drastically cut back on their programming. Unfortunately, that meant cutting programming for teens and tweens. One of first big initiatives was starting that back up again.”
As part of his first order of business, Nichols created the Teen and Tween Advisory Boards in order to help develop new programs.
“The boards are giving us input on what kind of programming they want to see and changes they want to make to the library, particularly with the new building project in the works,” said Nichols. “We are getting some new furniture and rugs for the teen center and they actually helped select what is going in there. They are helping shape our programming and the space because we want to make it their space.”
Nichols said 150 children and adolescents are participating in this year’s Summer Reading program, which has a fitness theme.
“It’s going to well,” said Nichols. “Our attendance numbers are up and I think the community is really responding to the types of programming we are offering.”
As part of the Summer Reading program, Nichols had martial artists from Cervizzi’s Martial Arts Academy and yoga instructors from Solstice Power Yoga come in and give lessons to students.
“The kids wanted the martial arts and yoga classes, and we reached out to local businesses to see if they would be interested in teaching a class for us,” said Nichols. “When I am developing programs, I try to come up with programs that kids really like. That’s where the programming ideas come from.”
Additionally, Nichols has launched an Anime Club and a Manga Club, the latter of which is a Japanese comic similar to anime. He also said the library has launched a Pokemon Go program that has become a big hit with kids. Nichols and the library have started a video game collection after the library was given a Nintendo Wii. He said there are 115 video games available for children and teenagers to check out and bring home and the library will be adding more games in the near future. He noted the library is currently offering a Video Game Vengeance program, where local adolescents can test their video game skills against their peers.
Nichols has worked to launch new collections at the library as well. He said there is a new picture book bin that includes dinosaur books, transportation books and “royal reads,” which are books about kings, queens, princes and princesses.
“Those books have been circulating really well,” said Nichols.
Nichols has also created a new chapter book section for first and second graders.
“It makes the flow from picture books to easy readers to chapter books to regular fiction easier,” said Nichols. “It’s an extra step because diving into the fiction waters can be scary for a little kid because the books are so thick and intimidating.”
Nichols has also instituted new story time-inspired programs such as Songs and Stories and Puppet Pals for the library’s youngest patrons.
“Those have been extremely well received,” said Nichols. “Parents are always looking for more things to bring their kids to.”
Nichols said he wants to develop more STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) programs at the library. He said the library wants to launch a maker space area that will be similar to the Maker Spaces at Lynnfield High School and Summer Street School. He is planning on checking out both schools’ spaces in order to generate ideas for the library’s future maker space.
“We want to do more STEAM programming because that is the big push in libraries,” said Nichols. “We just got a 3D printer, so I will be teaching some 3D printing classes. We are going to do adult programming as well.”
Nichols said Library Director Holly Mercer and the rest of the library staff have been “very supportive” since he has come to town.
“They have really embraced all of the changes I have made and the new collections I have created,” said Nichols. “They have been behind me 100 percent and they are looking for even bigger and more ideas in the future. It’s a great environment to be in because they are encouraging and they are not stuck in their ways, which is a perception of a lot of librarians. I am ecstatic they are so motivated to see change.”
