This “3 Questions With” comes from a sponsored interview in partnership with Tecovas.
As a traveling children’s librarian for the Nashville Public Library, Cathy Strahan reads to a thousand children a month, bringing a love of books and libraries to children all around Nashville. We had a chance to talk to Cathy about what exactly a traveling children’s librarian does, and why her work is so essential to Nashville’s kids.
What is a traveling children's librarian?
“I go to four small branches that don’t have their own children’s librarian: Looby, Edgehill, East, and Pruitt. I also travel to community sites, like daycares, preschools, Head Start centers, and elementary schools, and read with children. I play with puppets, sing songs, and do in-house programming, like storytimes and afterschool programming.”
What does an average day in your life look like?
“I’ll give you today as an example. I got up and drove to a daycare in North Nashville. I went from room to room, starting with the infants, then the toddlers, and finally the preschoolers. I had about 30 minutes with each group to read, sing, and play with puppets, and I also have felt board stories. After that, I had about 30 minutes to get to Looby and prepare for storytime.
“After storytime, I work the desk for about an hour so staff can take their lunch break. I’ll take my own lunch, and then go to another daycare or preschool and do the whole thing again. It’s busy. I have to really stick to the schedule to get it all in at the right time.”
How does your work contribute to the Nashville community?
“My favorite part of being a librarian is going out in the community and bringing the library to people. It’s what I’m really passionate about.
“Not every child can come to a library for storytime. Parents work; kids are in daycare and preschools for many reasons. I love that I can bring the library to the children, and I think it’s important because some of these kids aren’t going to have any relationship with a library or librarian until they start school. And it’s pretty evident that adults who have had great experiences with libraries as children will grow up into community members who support libraries.”
