Bolivar-Hardeman County Library’s Hannah Thompson Leaves to Continue her College Education
Bolivar-Hardeman County Library (BHCL) employees and patrons said goodbye this month to Hannah Thompson, who has worked as the program coordinator at the library since September 2022. In her short time in the position, Hannah created a variety of programs for patrons from the ages of preschool all the way to adult seniors making the BHCL not just a place to check out books, but a place to gain a full learning experience and a sense of belonging.
Hannah graduated from Bolivar Central High School (BCHS) in Spring 2022. She previously worked for two years part-time as a waitress and later took a part-time job at Bolivar General Hospital in 2021, where she planned to stay until she graduated from Jackson State Community College (JSCC). When the program coordinator position opened at the BHCL, Hannah knew that was the perfect job for her.
“When I saw the library job posting, it was too exciting for me not to apply,” said Hannah. “I remember telling my sister about how perfect the job seemed to be for me. She agreed and encouraged me to apply.”
As it turned out, the BHCL program coordinator position was the perfect job for Hannah who jumped right in with her vision of offering programming for all people in the community, and especially for a segment of people who sometimes get left out. Growing up, Hannah did not find very many extracurricular activities outside of school that pertained to the things she enjoyed like drawing, reading, and writing. Most of her friends were competitive and enjoyed sports, but she did not.
“Nobody was picking me to be on their kickball team first, but they would ask me for a book recommendation. As the BHCL Program Coordinator, one of my goals was to promote programs like STEM Club, Lego Club, and Teen Book Club that could be creative outlets for children and teenagers in Hardeman County who do not enjoy [or excel in] sports, to use their imagination while also getting that sense of teamwork and belonging that sports provide,” said Hannah.
Hannah also had an eye on engaging more senior adults through programs at the library. The Sassy Seniors, started by the previous program coordinator, Becky White (who returned and is replacing Hannah in the position), was in its infancy when Hannah started working at the library. She saw a lot of potential for the program and grew it tremendously to include activities not just for older adults but with ones that were fun and engaging for adults of all ages.
“I have enjoyed serving the senior citizens through the Sassy Seniors program. I planned activities for the senior citizens in my community where they got to relax, make new friends, and enjoy their retirement that they have worked hard for,” said Hannah, who has also learned so much from the patrons as well as her experiences at the library. “I have also really enjoyed learning about the interesting history of Hardeman County through working at the library. Because of this, I’ve developed a greater appreciation for both the study of history and Hardeman County. I even enrolled in a ‘History of Tennessee’ course this semester!”
Continuing her college education was always the plan for Hannah. Having earned an associates degree in general education at JSCC in December 2023, Hannah leaves the library to begin her first semester at the University of Memphis – Lambuth in Jackson, Tennessee. She plans to study psychology.
“As much as I have loved working at the library, I feel I must continue my education to learn some of the answers to my ‘why questions’,” said Hannah who is going to miss the many people she had the opportunity to serve as well as her coworkers. “I will miss my coworkers, patrons, and all of the program participants, from the children to the ‘Sassies’. I will miss seeing the faces of the children as they comprehend and react to the stories I read. I will miss laughing and hearing the stories that the Sassy Seniors tell. I will miss seeing the excitement on the children’s faces at STEM Club or Lego Club when someone tells them they are smart, and I will miss the preteens and teens from Teen Book Club, and hearing how they interpret stories.”
Although BHCL history room clerk Vanessa Lambert is happy for Hannah moving to the next phase of her life, she is going to miss working with her and shared some words about her former coworker.
“Hannah has been a breath of fresh air. She has brought forward thinking ideas and programming to our library,” said Ms. Lambert. “We needed her fresh outlook to help redefine any lines that had been previously drawn for a small-town library. For Hannah, it was a safe reading place as a child, and as an adult, she wanted it to be a place “to be.”
Hannah has known the value of a library in communities ever since she was a child. Working at the library has only reinforced her belief about how important it is to have an active library in a community, especially a smaller one like Hardeman County.
“I have been a loyal library patron ever since I can remember! My parents used to take me to the library all the time when I was a child. As I got older, I continued to come to the library to check out books, read, or study,” said Hannah, who even wrote a final speech for her Communications class about the importance of libraries and why people should support them. “Libraries are no longer places where cat lovers point their fingers and tell you to ‘shhh’. Instead, libraries have transformed into vital hubs that provide access to information, promote literacy, seek to engage communities, preserve history, and bridge the digital divide, fostering a thriving, informed society.”
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