BROOKINGS — After 14 years as librarian at Brookings High School, Jean Kirschenman feels like she’s found her groove — talk to everyone, focus on what she can do and delight in the outliers.

“The teachers call me The Bartender,” she says with a smile. “Because I listen to everyone. I give a lot of advice. But mostly, I do a lot of listening.”

“I used to think my job was about connecting students with books,” Kirschenman said. “But now I think it’s about bigger connections. After COVID, especially, I think that did a number on all of us, but it seems like people are lacking connections. So that’s what I try to do. Sometimes it’s just a quiet seat, sometimes it’s a conversation, but it’s really about making connections.”

Those connections are being noticed. And honored.

In October, Kirschenman was named South Dakota Librarian of the Year by the South Dakota Library Association.

Kirschenman said she was thrilled to receive the award, though that might not always have been true.

She’s not really serving drinks. But she isn’t just checking out books, either. She’s making the library at the high school a Third Place where students and teachers alike can find answers, inspiration, information, a kind ear or just a quiet corner.

“I have learned through the years, a lot of what I do is behind the scenes, and that’s fine,” Kirschenman said. “But I have also learned the importance of getting out there, of advocating for students, advocating for libraries, every chance I get.”

Kirschenman said a few years back, the high school library lost its full-time aide position, and she was ultimately faced with a decision.

“It’s really easy to feel sorry for yourself,” she said. “But I am a big believer that the best decision we can make is to be in a good mood that day. And so you make the decision, do what you can. Do everything you can. If the librarian doesn’t get to be enthusiastic about books, where are we?”

More than books

Kirschenman was nominated for the award by 9^th grade English teacher Alyssa Laufmann. And it was a rave review:

“To say Jean Kirschenman is beloved at Brookings High School would be an understatement. The library is located at the center of BHS — the heart of the building, if you will. I could not come up with a better metaphor for Jean Kirschenman if I tried; she is quite literally the heart of BHS.”

The nomination, and her colleagues, are never short on projects to mention. Kirschenman hosts a library wide Speed Dating for Books event every fall, where she presents the cream of the literary crop via genre on tables for kids to peruse. She serves on a young adult reading committee that helps pick the best books for students. The Brookings School Board has given her its BEST Award three times, her library has thrice been named an Exemplary Library but the SDLA. She delights in her displays, and the main table in the front of the library now bears a stack of holiday themed books arranged into a snowman, complete with scarf.

Given the span of her career — she spent 18 years as a librarian and teacher in Elkton before arriving at BHS in 2009 — Kirschenman has had to constantly evolve.

“I started my career with one typewriter and catalog cards,” she said. “And now, paper copies become more expensive every year. But students still want paper copies, so I don’t think they are going anywhere soon.”

And even as library work becomes increasingly digitized, Kirschenman says she keeps coming back to basics — students, teachers and books.

She said she still loves to read and shoots for 70 books per year, and she gets particularly energized helping students find a book they will love. She enjoys projects that have her select books for others, be it students, teachers or other libraries.

“Some people might not guess, but I was the class clown in a high school of 340 kids,” she said. “Maybe not typical of a librarian. But you forge your own path, and those things actually fit together, the longer I do it. I can be myself, my authentic self, and that is really cool.”

The Outliers

A listener can hear the passion in Kirschenman’s voice when she talks about helping individuals — particularly those with unique challenges, and particularly these days.

“That’s been a big goal of ours the last few years,” she says of making the library a place where anyone can find respite. “Everyone’s mental health has just taken a hit, and we try to help.”

She mentions placing chairs in quieter areas and putting out puzzles, stickers and other items to simply make the library a place to be.

“And I do delight in the outliers, the people who don’t fit the mainstream for the large part, be they someone with vision troubles who needs large print, or someone who needs audio books for whatever reason.

“Students come in looking for a college textbook I can find for them, or the oral interp kids need help finding a source for something or if we have a teacher taking a class who needs source materials — people here know they can come to me and I will help. It’s those little extras and I love the help.”

Libraries have come under national — and local — pressure recently as part of right-wing culture wars, and Kirschenman was heartened to see the Brookings community rally behind books and the people who work with them.

“That was a good show of support, and it’s always nice to see libraries get that support,” she said. “As I have done this job I have learned the importance of thick skin. I’ve learned to see my quirkiness and sense of humor as assets. And I have learned the importance of getting out there — I try to advocate for students, and for libraries, every chance I get.”

But whether speaking out, tending bar by listening or simply, quietly making a cozy space for a student to curl up with a good book, Kirschenman most delights in helping. As the sign at her desk reads: People Over Things.

And she fits into her library as surely as everything else she has meticulously curated.

“Every year I feel more strongly that this library is where I belong and that I am doing what I am supposed to be doing,” Kirschenman said.

Linehan is the Register’s managing editor and welcomes comments at jlinehan@brookingsregister.com.