Tender & Tenacious: Ride Along with Cross Lanes Branch Library

Ride along with us! Spend a typically one-of-a-kind Thursday in the life of Cross Lanes Branch. A gnome, a spot of rain, and an unexpected incident.

I roll up to Cross Lanes Branch on a misty Thursday in late February just before noon. Beyond the double doors, I land at their Black History Month bulletin board display and then browse the used books they have on offer before stepping into the library proper. Admiring the design of their quarterly newsletter, I scope the samples for their Spice Club (za’atar) and Coffee Club (blueberry vanilla), as well as some new children’s books. I learn all about how awesome young basketball player and ballerina Ina is in Baller Ina. When I finally make it to the back workroom, Branch Manager Brittany Addis is leading a team meeting with Administrative Coordinator Jessica Plantz, Children’s Specialist Olivia Bradshaw, and Library Assistant Aubry Bennett, while Library Assistant Teresa Thacker holds down the circulation desk. I interact regularly with these staff members over email but witnessing their group dynamic in person leaves me in awe; transparency, honesty, directness, and passion are all values clearly integral to their flow.

After the group goes over important questions, tasks, and notes for the day and week ahead, Jessica dives into a whirlwind of planning and scheduling—for upcoming programs, patron room reservations, and Summer Library Club. Aubry processes library materials from the morning’s delivery, and afterwards I spend a good hour helping cut out pattern pieces for hats and cloaks to prep for her upcoming Fantastic Felt Gnomes program. Amongst the sounds of our fabric scissors and chalk wheels, we overhear the earnest politeness of a young patron checking out books and discover how much we both adore capybaras. Up next, Olivia, Jessica, and Aubry brainstorm a potential furniture replacement to upgrade their current board book display bay and research possible models that will hopefully meet both their needs and their budget.

In between projects, Jessica sits on the floor of the workroom to look through boxes of old photographs and newspaper clippings. Cross Lanes Branch celebrates 25 years in their current building on March 16, 2024, and Jessica gathers some materials for a bulletin board display, finding a program from the March 21, 1999 opening of the building amongst old memos. Jumping on the computer to browse through image files on CDs unearthed from the archives, Jessica and Olivia travel back in time as they recognize the familiar faces of past patrons, some of whom still come in! Olivia has worked with KCPL for 22 years, and Jessica has worked at Cross Lanes since age 18, after some time as a VolunTEEN. Jessica remembers going to storytimes as a kid in the octagonal building (one of the “instant libraries”) that was the Branch’s previous home.

Meanwhile, Brittany works on getting her spring Seed Library together, which launches on March 16, and we help her package marigold, cucumber, and cilantro seeds, which in the coming months will be distributed to patrons interested in starting their own flowers, vegetables, and herbs. My ability to count from 1 to 10 somehow degenerates over time as we share stories and pictures of our children, both human and animal. Teresa and Brittany end their shifts for the day, and the remaining four of us take our dinner breaks in turn, checking in with our families and our cats and dogs, navigating the after-school rush. The Thrifty Trio talk about a superpower they possess: the ability to find and repurpose cast-off items for free (as well as their inability to throw away a good glass jar). They keep in constant communication, always looking out for the safety of their patrons.

While Olivia sets up for her paint-along program, I sit on the floor behind the circulation desk and sift through more seeds as Jessica and Aubry plan upcoming genres for their monthly Fiction Addiction book club. They started off the year with a fantasy, a regency romance, and a thriller. Where will April, May, and June take them? Obscure literary fiction and a murder mystery are in the works! I recognize a patron here for the painting workshop as well, and we take a few minutes to talk language learning apps and library program ideas. Upon joining the group in the meeting room, Olivia walks us through our tools and the steps needed to recreate the prompt: a cute red bird on a snowy branch backdropped by a crisp, blue sky.

As Olivia leads us through the process with ease, planning our branches with pencil and laying down our blues, she starts telling a story about her pet loach and its surprising journey out of the fish tank, and suddenly I am underwater with the seaweed, moving into abstract impressionism! Some of our classmates experiment with different textures and densities of snow, while others transport themselves to another climate and season entirely. Whether we stay true to the prompt, would prefer to be at the beach, or completely go rogue, Olivia teaches us that it is absolutely okay to “branch out” into our own world.

After helping Olivia clean up and leaving paint trays in the sink to soak, we check in with Aubry and Jessica at the desk. In the foggy lull before close, we get to talking on the nuances of macaroni and cheese recipes, whether boxed or homemade, from how our parents and grandparents made it to what our kids prefer. While I rap up my last few seed packets, they move through closing procedures with a swift and well-practiced precision, ensuring patron copies are made and the building is secure. As they lock the front doors and turn out the lights, we head out the back exit into the pouring evening rain. Making a run for our respective vehicles, I end the day gently pelted by raindrops and tenderness. The care this tenacious and tender trio extend to each other and their patrons suffuses every joke and decision, every boundary set and action taken. Always ready to laugh and willing to listen, the history they carry and their connection to this place are deeply felt by all those who perch awhile and call this Branch home.

Text and photography © Jai Ravine (February 2024)