Libraries as a 'third' space in our community: a conversation with KFPL Programming/Outreach Manager Liz Coates

The 'third space' is often defined as that social environment separate from home (first space) and work (second space). Examples include libraries, gyms and cafes.

"We're a third space in the community, where everyone is welcome to come no matter who you are, no matter how old you are, no matter your life circumstances, you're welcome. You can stay as long as you want. It's like a community living room."

Liz Coates is the Manager of Programming and Outreach at the Kingston Frontenac Public Library. She is passionate about literacy, inclusion, and the role that public libraries play in helping people feel connected and supportive. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Welcome to Community Connections, a Compassionate Communities Kingston podcast. Compassionate Communities Kingston was founded in 2017 to bring the global compassionate communities movement to Kingston. We are inspiring intergenerational compassion in our communities by providing older adults with knowledge, connection, and support, promoting vitality, purpose, and a sense of well-being. Here is your host, Nancy Corrigan.

SPEAKER_02 0:34

Today on the podcast, we're having a conversation with Liz Coates, the manager of programming and outreach at the Kingston Frontnet Public Library. Liz is passionate about literacy, inclusion, and the role that public libraries play in helping people feel connected and supportive. Welcome to the podcast, Liz.

SPEAKER_01 0:52

Thanks for having me. Happy to be here today.

SPEAKER_02 0:54

Excellent. Well, I'm really looking forward to talking about the library, and I'd like to start, though, by asking you to tell me a little bit about your journey to becoming a manager of programming and outreach at the library.

SPEAKER_01 1:06

So I did my undergraduate degree at McMaster University, and I had always like thought about libraries as a possible career path. Of course, I was a bookworm growing up, but it was more than just the books piece. I love people. I love customer service. I always loved those jobs I had in university, serving people. And then I found out that there was a master's degree you could do in library science. So I went to the University of Toronto and a position came up at the Calgary Public Library. I was based out of this really wonderful little community branch, and I was in charge of all the programming in the branch and all the outreach, really hands-on in the community, and I loved it. I always thought, you know, I'll move back closer to home one day and had never been to Kingston before, but then I saw this job posting for a teen librarian at the Kingston Frontenac Public Library. And I applied for it and got the job. And then there was a posting for manager branch operations. So that was a little bit of a different direction. And then I got my dream job, the manager of programming and outreach at the Kingston Frontenac Public Library.

SPEAKER_02 2:25

Awesome. That's wonderful.

SPEAKER_01 2:26

Tell me a little bit more about your role. So I manage an amazing team. I've got three librarians that report to me, one whose portfolio is children's, one whose portfolio is teens and new adults, and then a librarian who takes care of adult services. And then we have, we also have this dynamic team of programming assistants who do a lot of the program delivery. So my team serves everyone from birth to end of life. So you can imagine like the full range of programs that we do. We provide access to a ton of different resources. In the create space, we offer free access to anyone in the community who has a library card. They can use our 3D printer, our cricket, sewing machine, embroidery machine. We've got this dynamic space where people can take workshops, can learn new skills. We've got social groups and workshops and all kinds of programs to bring people together. So there's the offering programs piece, but then there's the building relationships piece as well. So we have tons of partnerships in the community, that groups that we work with to offer programs, but also to reach people in the community that maybe aren't coming to the library. It's all about building those relationships, getting into schools, going to the seniors center, going to clinics and getting out there and building relationships.

SPEAKER_02 4:09

People think of the library as being a place you go when you take out books. It seems like it's such a community hub.

SPEAKER_01 4:15

Definitely. So people can borrow a pass for the ROM or park passes. So you can borrow a park pass and go to sandbanks in the summer. It's about access. We also have digital resources too. So ebooks, audiobooks. We have Pressreader, which is an app that allows you to have full text access to thousands of different newspapers and magazines across the world and magazines in different languages. Newcomers could read magazines and newspapers from where they're from and in their own language. We have Canopy, which allows you to watch like really cool documentaries and film festival films, like different from what's on the typical streaming services. Free of charge, we offer reminiscing kits that people can borrow. So this is something a caregiver could use as a tool with someone who's experiencing dementia. It's got books that are like easier to read that might trigger memories. It's got fidgets and resources for the caregiver puzzles, little simple games. We have LinkedIn Learning, which gives you, allows you to take courses to learn about a different topic. No matter who the person is, I can find something that's going to make them want to use the library.

SPEAKER_02 6:06

That's amazing. And I love that idea that you can borrow a past to go somewhere or, you know, or do something. I wonder if you can talk a little bit about some of the older adult work that you do. We know that you partner with Compassionate Communities Kingston as part of your Aging Well series to host our talking cafes.

SPEAKER_01 6:24

So Compassionate Communities has been a natural partner for us at the library. Older adults is one of our target groups that we serve. There's a huge problem, a health problem right now with social isolation. And it really affects all age groups, but older adults are especially vulnerable. Social isolation has negative health effects. So aging well is a speaker series for older adults. We have different agencies come in, a variety of topics. So topics could range from like fraud awareness to MAID, aging in place, preventing dementia. Also, we've had like indigenous gardening in there, balcony gardening, preserving family heirlooms, just a variety of topics of interest. And what we've done is we've paired it with the talking cafes. So people come for this speaker series, and then they are able to stick around afterwards and make connections with others. It's, hey, come hang out afterwards, talk about the topic, build relationships, deepen this speaker series into friendships and connection. We've had some really lovely comments from patrons about how they've been enjoying like building relationships. There was a group that met in the talking cafe that kept meeting for coffee. It's just the start of something, and then they they continue to grow.

SPEAKER_02 7:58

Also, think for people who maybe are afraid to learn something new. For example, computer skills, but coming to the library, they have a safe space to learn that, especially maybe if they don't have family to help them.

SPEAKER_01 8:11

Yeah, and we have we have tech tutors at the library. So patrons can book one-on-one appointments and get tech help, and that can be really impactful.

SPEAKER_02 8:21

Do you find that older adults um are learning to be more comfortable with technology at the library when they're learning things different things? You talked about your create space too, like being able to have an embroidery machine must seem really interesting, maybe for an older adult who may be hand-embroidered in the past.

SPEAKER_01 8:39

Our tech tutors serve a lot of older adults. We are a partner on the Older Adults Day program at the Rideau Heights Community Center. It's a hub for older adults, and there's a variety of organizations that are working together. The library provides a little book club, board games, the Alzheimer's Society is doing like a knitting workshop. There's exercise programs. So people can pick and choose what they want to do. There's something for everyone. And another thing we offer at those programs is a tech tutor. And they're just there all morning answering tech questions and helping people develop their digital literacy skills. Every other Tuesday, we offer a knit crochet program. And that's a really magical mix of ages. There's some like teenagers, queens students coming out, and then some older adults, and everyone's bonding over knit and crochet and building relationships there. The intention is to provide a space for knit and crochet, but the hidden benefit is the community building, that people are there building relationships and feel maybe feeling less lonely.

SPEAKER_02 9:51

That intergenerational component is so important, right?

SPEAKER_01 9:54

Yeah. And with the older adults day program, we so we've done like a intergenerational story time in the right in the space for March break. This year we're doing a a portrait session. So kids six and up can come and like paint the portrait of an older adult at this program. So they like share stories, get to know each other, and then they get their portrait painted by a kid. In this summer, what we're gonna do is get some teen volunteers to come out and play board games with older adults. That's wonderful. What do you have in store for the future for programming? Our next really big thing is our summer reading program. So every summer we get the entire community reading. We have an app. It's called Beanstack. Anyone can download it right away. It's for all ages. And there's prizes every single week. And we want the entire community to be rediscovering books and reading because reading is so good for health and it's good for democracy. It's good for being exposed to different ideas. Um, it's good for the development of empathy. If if the whole world were readers, it would be a very positive thing.

SPEAKER_02 11:15

It's a once a book nerd, always a book nerd, right?

SPEAKER_01 11:18

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 11:19

Obviously, you're passionate about it. What's your favorite part of your day?

SPEAKER_01 11:24

There's so much I enjoy about my job. I think my favorite part of the day is anytime I get to connect with someone, whether that's a community partner, a staff member, a patron. Anytime I get to see the results of our programming, getting to see the people enjoying our space and feeling connected to the library, seeing themselves and our collections spaces and performers and feeling welcome. That's that's what I love the most about my job.

SPEAKER_02 11:58

Awesome. Thank you so much for speaking with me today, Liz. It was a pleasure.

SPEAKER_01 12:02

Thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_00 12:04

Thank you for listening to Community Connections, hosted by Nancy Corrigan and produced by Soundwise in Kingston, Ontario. Voiceover by Neil Carey. If you've enjoyed this podcast, please share it and subscribe where possible. For more information, visit compassionate Kingston.ca