Listen to the interview here!
Kristin Brumbach
Toni Reece: Hi there. This is Toni Reece. Welcome to the Get Inspired! Project for Berks County Living Magazine. Today I am with Kristin Brumbach. Hi, Kristin.
Kristin Brumbach: Hi, Toni. Thanks for having me.
Toni: Kristin, tell us a little bit about yourself.
Kristin: I am a Berks County native. I was born and raised here, and then I went to study at Bryn Mawr College, and did a few jobs in the business community to find out what I didn’t like, and then I eventually landed at Albright College Library, and that’s where I discovered my love and passion for libraries.
Toni: I like that. You don’t have very many people that will say, “I have a love for libraries.” I had asked you before the interview – tell me, why do you have a love for libraries?
Kristin: What I really love about libraries is the idea that information in this age really is power, and information is empowering. In libraries, what we’re trying to do all the time is connect people to the information that they need to solve their own problems.
Toni: I love that. I really do. That is so cool. Let’s go to the Project. What does inspiration mean to you?
Kristin: I think that my high school Latin teachers would be really happy to hear me say that when I hear the word “inspiration” I think of the root – inspire; to breathe in. Those are the moments that I know I’m being inspired. When I’m talking to a patron and I say, “Ah!” and I know that I can find them their answer. I know just the right resource to match them with. Or, I know the right person to match them with, or I know that I can connect them with someone else or something that we’re doing at the library to create a community.
Toni: Can you give me an example of when you’ve done that – that physical, “Ah! That’s really cool!”
Kristin: Sure. We’re having a great summer reading program this year, and I’ve gotten all kinds of local talent. We have a teacher who teaches at Mifflin Park Elementary, and he’s also a caver, so when I found this out probably a year ago, our theme this year is “Underground,” so this was just perfect. I said, “Ah! Can you come and do a program for us?” He did the program. We had about 55 kids in attendance. It was fantastic.
Toni: Oh, that’s great. So when you get inspired like that and you know it, just like you said, and it’s that breathe-in moment of, “Wow!” How have you put that into practice here in Berks County? You’ve given an example of matching the resources at the library – can you give us other examples of when you’ve taken those moments of inspiration and put them into play here in Berks County for yourself, for your work, for your family?
Kristin: I think that’s a great example, and that’s something that I do all the time. I listen to people, and I like to hear what their stories are and how that connects to what we’re doing. I might hear about another project that’s going on in Berks County. I might say, “Oh, hey – you might want to check out this event going on. You should really talk to so-and-so because they’re really into that and trying to make this happen.”
Toni: So for you, it really is about connecting resources to each other.
Kristin: Absolutely.
Toni: Do you find yourself having to dig for those resources?
Kristin: Sometimes, but I think most of the time I just find this serendipity of, “Oh my goodness! This came up, and I can't believe it – it’s just what I needed, just at the right time.”
Toni: Do you ever follow back or circle back with someone that maybe you couldn’t find that resource for them at that moment, and then maybe another day goes by and you’re like, “Wait, wait! That’s it!” ?
Kristin: Yes, absolutely. Absolutely. That’s with even just finding great books for kids. Somebody might come in and say, “I really want a book about hockey.” I might say, “I don’t have anything like that today,” but the next day somebody will bring in a donation of 10 hockey books and I’ll say, “This is perfect!” That kind of thing.
Toni: You work in the Children’s Library, correct?
Kristin: I do.
Toni: Do you ever witness that type of inspired intake of breath with children?
Kristin: Sure, absolutely.
Toni: Can you give me an example?
Kristin: Just the other night we had a great program about worms, since we’re on our “Underground” theme. We did a little experiment with worms going to part of a paper towel that we had scented with apple as opposed to soap, and all the kids are going, “Ah! I can’t believe it! They know! They can smell!” Things like that. It’s that discovery. It’s that realization that they can take something that they can find in their backyard and do more with it.
Toni: Who in Berks County inspires you?
Kristin: I have to say in Berks County I love that there are a lot of people who are “and.” Teachers I find a lot – there’s a teacher and a musician. Or, I know a librarian who also makes jewelry. Or, somebody who’s an engineer and a competitive fencer.
People come to public libraries a lot of times to practice some of their passions. We have a writer’s group that meets throughout the year. They do all kinds of day jobs, and yet they come every other week to meet and talk about their fiction writing, because that’s their passion.
I think everybody usually has something that they do that’s their day job, but then they have something else that they get really excited about and they love, and that’s inspiring to me.
I also have to say the immigrant communities in Berks County are really inspiring. Sometimes I look out at our story time, and I’m like, “Wow – is this a story time? It could be a UN subcommittee meeting!” I’ve got people from Russia, Morocco, Vietnam all coming together. With kids story times they’re all there for their children. They’ve come from all over the world, and they’ve chosen here.
Toni: I’ve never heard it put like that, that what inspires you are “and” people – is that how you put that?
Kristin: That’s how I put it, yes.
Toni: “And” people – people that are teachers and a musician. Do you have an “and”?
Kristin: I do not. I’m a generalist, I say. I’m interested in so many things. I’m just happy that I can interact with people who do have those specialized passions, and I can bring them together.
Toni: Okay. What do you want your legacy to be?
Kristin: That’s a really hard question, but I would say I really want people to know about their public libraries, and all their libraries, whether they’re going to a school or not. I found that even in schools, people don’t know what amazing resources they are, and what amazing resources their librarians are. I would love for people to know about the libraries as a resource, and also to just keep learning. That’s what librarians are in it for. That’s what teachers … I think they’re all in it because they just love going to school so much they don’t want to stop.
People have those passions. Keep learning. It’s that curiosity; having that curiosity in your community makes your community a more interesting place to live. I want to foster curiosity in Berks County.
Toni: Fantastic! Kristin, thank you so much for being part of the Get Inspired! Project.
Kristin: Thank you very much. It’s a lot of fun.
