More than 500 Central freshmen and over 30 teachers learned how to access public transportation and library services on a field trip to Omaha’s public libraries on Oct. 4.
Students were spread out across the W. Clarke Swanson, Florence, A.V. Sorensen, Downtown, Charles B. Washington and Benson branches of the Omaha Public Library in morning and afternoon sessions. Field trip groups used Omaha’s ORBT and Metro bus routes to reach the branches.
Martha Omar, the Freshman Academy lead and organizer of the field trip, developed the excursion as a community outreach program with the input of the Freshman Academy Advisory Board. Freshmen engaged as “public library ambassadors” in a “literacy access event” by creating videos to introduce public libraries to OPS elementary schoolers.
Freshman Kristiana Velasquez visited the A.V. Sorensen branch with social studies teacher Adam Raffety’s group. In her video, Velasquez read a Pete the Cat book and informed students about using the library for homework and hanging out with friends.
“Within in your free time or even just your worktime, that library was perfect for anything,” Velasquez said.
“Having the next generation of young people hear from the big kids, ‘Here’s the library. You should go. It’s a place for you.’ That sounds different than [from] a teacher or another adult,” said Central’s Pathway Coordinator Christy Flaherty-Colling, who was also involved in the logistics of the field trip.
Omar’s planning started in May and involved collaboration with the district and each library branch, as well as arranging paperwork for library card applications. Library card applications require proof of address and photo identification, but the field trip yielded card registrations for more than half of the freshmen.
With a library card, students have free access to OPL’s thousands of books, visual materials, listening materials, online databases, newspapers, seed packets, website subscriptions and partnership passes to local attractions.
Yet, libraries also serve as a “third space” for students outside of school and home, according to English Learners (EL) teacher Sarah Lehn.
“We think about the library as being a place to get books,” Lehn said. “We don’t think about it as a place to get internet access, community … services.”
OPL offers resources for applying for citizenship, English-Learner materials, GED courses, career readiness information, college prep, legal aid and connections to outside social services. Additionally, library branches are quiet, climate-controlled buildings with free internet and computer access.
“It’s a [safe] place to be a person,” Omar said.
However, many students do not have access to public libraries. Omar, Lehn and Flaherty-Colling cited poverty, language and inconvenient work schedules as barriers to library access. Additionally, once a student becomes a teenager, getting set up at a public library may be intimidating or unfamiliar because students feel they should have gotten a card sooner.
“We [as teachers] are in a position of really wanting to touch students’ future interactions with services that are available to them,” Flaherty-Colling said.
By traveling to the library via city buses, students learned routes to the library from Central. ORBT, Metro and Moby transportation is free for all K-12 students, and numerous transit stops are within walking distance of Central.
Understanding Omaha’s public transportation allows for access to any part of Omaha on a bus line, and therefore increased independence and academic, social or employment opportunities.
“Being able to get on a bus can get them to the next level,” Flaherty-Colling said. “You can’t underestimate the power of access.”
Science teacher Matthew Hamill, Omar and Lehn said public education, public libraries and public transportation all have a similar goal: access.
“Access to knowledge, access to places, access to a huge body of knowledge … to me, public libraries and public education, those are the backbones of our democracy,” Hamill said. “If you are going to have a democracy, you have to have educated citizens.”
Visit omahalibrary.org for information on OPL locations and how to register for a library card.
