Summer Interns: Everyone Wins!
Richmond Public Library, Richmond, Virginia
Innovation Synopsis
Summer is a key time for libraries, children and literacy. How do we get the extra staff we need to expand our offerings for our city’s families? The answer for us was to pilot and then expand a paid summer intern program for college students. Our structured, mentored program had benefits across the board, including doubling our summer programming and one-on-one support. The results also included rave reviews from families, children, library staff and the interns themselves.
Challenge/Opportunity
Our Richmond children are struggling with literacy and school readiness.
- 41.3% of Richmond’s 15,800 children under five live in poverty.
- 56% of kindergarteners lack basic skills (in literacy, math, social skills, and self-regulation) needed for success as they enter first grade.
- In grades 3-8, only 35% of the Richmond Public School students were proficient in reading, and only 10% were proficient in math for their grade level.
These problems go beyond the normal summer slide. To further compound our challenge, we had just expanded our hours included Saturdays and select evenings but with no additional staff. Increasing our story times, one on one work with children and programming could only happen with more staff for this peak period.
Key Elements of Innovation
In 2023 we created a pilot paid summer intern program. We sought 2 interns, college students majoring in education or early childhood learning, to work for 10 weeks. Schedules were flexible except both would work on Saturdays. They were based in our Main Library but deployed regularly to branches for kindergarten boot camp and other programs.
Our Director, Scott Firestine, arranged for the city to pay for this pilot. Dr. Joan Rhodes, Chair, VCU Early Learning Department, spread the word among all her colleagues across the state.
We had 24 qualified applicants. The selected 2 received a full day of training and then continuous support by our children’s manager. Their duties included program preparation, story times, one on one work, and help at performer/special events.
Lack of free literacy/learning programming and resources during the summer hurt our children and families. If this pilot worked, the library would have the staff they needed when they needed it.
Achieved Outcomes
The pilot was a success on every level. The children and families saw our programs at Main double. They flocked to the library with a 20%+ increase in summer reading sign ups, full to capacity Saturday programs, and children book check outs hitting records. We significantly increased one on one attention too. Our children’s manager summed up the intern pilot experience, ”They were wonderful working with families.”
In fact, all 9 branch managers and children’s staff echoed this sentiment. They all wanted interns in 2024. Our interns found their experience to be enriching and valuable too. One intern told us, ”I knew I could make an impact in the community, but this experience drove that point home.”
Reports of our success filtered to local foundations and thanks to their generosity, we hired 10 paid summer interns in May 2024. This summer each branch has an intern with Main having 2. Our library is the place to be in the summer!
