HILLSBOROUGH: Local youths get experience at library as they shadow pros

Andrew Martins, Managing Editor
Teens throughout Somerset County recently had an opportunity to get some hands-on work experience at six county libraries through a new job shadowing program.
On July 18, the Somerset County Library System of New Jersey afforded local “teens and tweens” a chance to learn from library professionals at the Hillsborough branch, the Bound Brook branch, the Bridgewater branch, the Mary Jacobs branch, the North Plainfield branch and the Warren Township branch.
Business Librarian Cathy DeBerry said the idea behind the program was to give participants an idea as to what career options exist for them in the library system.
“SCLSNJ’s intentions in hosting an event like this was to expose young students to different kinds of careers as early as possible,” she said. “The students were not only able to learn about librarianship but they were also exposed to careers in management, marketing, public relations, finance, and human resources.”
Throughout the morning, participants shadowed several staff members across different departments. That type of access, the event’s coordinator Lynn Mazur said, gave way to a new learning experience for participants.
“By the end of the program [the teens] not only had a better understanding of how SCLSNJ works as a library system, but they also got a glimpse into the wide array of professions involved in the day-to-day operations of such a large organization,” she said. “I was amazed at how engaged the tweens were throughout the program. They asked smart, interesting questions of our staff and were in complete awe of all the work that happens behind-the-scenes.”
Looking back on the event, DeBerry posited that the more college-aged teens were poised to gain the most from the event.
“It’s been my experience in this economy that there is very little room for a young college student to dabble with several different majors,” she said. “There is little flexibility in a college schedule between general education requirements and major/minor requirements for students to take unrelated courses and be able to graduate on time. The more we can expose tweens and teens to different kinds of careers, the better they will be able to select a major as early as freshman year of college.”