Astonishing Projects: Celebrating the 2024 Community Learning Interns

Launching a library in a small, local school. Creating new review formulas to increase catalog checkouts. Expanding the video game universe. Kitsap Regional Library's community learning interns brought these ambitious goals into reality this year.

Since 2016, the Community Learning Internship, opens a new window has helped prepare young adults for the workforce by providing a paid employment opportunity to try various career options, gain practical work experience, and develop a project based on their interests—all in a supportive environment. Although the program paused in 2020, interns returned to the library in 2023 following the pandemic and have constantly applied their fresh perspectives toward expanding and refining library services based on their own diverse interests and life experiences. 

At the heart of the internship is the individual's self-chosen project. Each project is created and completed with mentorship and help from STEM and Learning Supervisor Megan Burton and Shelby Barnes, the STEM and Learning Assistant (and a former intern herself.) The project's goals must meet SMART requirements, being specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and accomplishable within a time-bound constraint.

The interns of 2024—A'Laynah-Renee Redwine, Lynne Tabone, and Noah Clauss—spent eight months observing the extremely varied work of library staff across the system, meeting one-on-one with library workers whose skillsets matched the interns' interests, developing their professional projects, and presenting the results of their efforts during a fall graduation ceremony at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. branch. 

Lynne chose to create a library for her school (which didn't have one) and shared the process of mapping a timeline of tasks, sourcing donated collection materials, creating a card catalog that adhered to her school's no-internet policy, and recruiting volunteers to ensure the library continues to exist and thrive well after her own graduation.

Noah created a review system for the Library's digital catalog to increase video game checkouts while helping patrons quickly find games relevant to their interests. To accomplish this, Noah designed a replicable review formula so others could write clear, well-constructed game reviews. As a measure of success, one of the test reviews Noah wrote used his own formula so successfully that he persuaded his mentor, Megan, to find a new game that appealed to her despite not personally liking the game himself. Noah's enthusiasm for library work didn't stop there. At the end of his internship, he joined the Kitsap Regional Library team as a substitute library assistant.

A'Laynah-Renee's passion for art and design led her to use the Library's 3D-modelling technology to bring a video game character to life—both designing the look and movements of the character while also writing a backstory, personality, plot, and world for the character to embody and inhabit. The project allowed her to explore the fields of creative writing, graphic design, and professional publishing. At the end of her tenure, A'Layhnah-Renee wrote, "I will miss this internship but I'm thankful for the opportunity to explore myself and form connection with the people it has led me to." She added, "To gain foresight, you need to be open to new experiences."

As we wish our 2024 interns well on the next steps of their career journey, we're looking forward to next year and are eagerly recruiting for 2025. Does the Community Learning Internship, opens a new window sound like a good fit for you? Please reach out and apply by November 30 to be considered for the 2025 program. Email STEM@KRL.org for more information.

Best of luck!