Dec. 1, 2025

How A New Librarian Builds Community Through Open Mic Programs

How A New Librarian Builds Community Through Open Mic Programs
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Season 1

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Ever wondered how a simple open mic can change the feel of a library? We sit down with Brittany Smith from Richland Library Sand Hills—freshly launched into her graduate studies at the University of South Carolina—to explore how handing the microphone to neighbors turns a quiet room into a vibrant community stage. From poetry and storytelling to music and student showcases, Brittany walks us through the practical steps any library can take to host a safe, inclusive, and wildly engaging open mic.

Website: spotlight4success.com

00:06 - Welcome And Guest Intro

00:44 - Brittany’s Conference Goals

01:11 - Open Mic Programs In Libraries

01:36 - Networking And Practical Takeaways

02:12 - Encouragement For The Library Community

02:38 - USC Journey And Graduation Path

03:06 - Closing Thanks

WEBVTT

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Welcome to Spotlight for Success by American Book Company.

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I'm Devin Pentoza, your host, and we are here in uh wonderful Columbia, South Carolina at the South Carolina Librarians Association Convention, uh S C L A, and we are so excited to have with us today Brittany Smith.

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Hi.

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Brittany comes to us uh from uh Columbia, I mean, I'm sorry, from uh Richland County.

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Um she she is at the Richland Sand Hills location, is that right?

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Richland Library Sand Hills.

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Richland Library Sand Hills, and we are so excited to have you here today.

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Thank you for having me.

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All right, so can you tell me a bit um as we continue here, Brittany, about what um what brings you to this conference today?

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Yeah, so I'm actually a new library student at USC, and I'm excited to dive into um everything libraries now and um being a part of it, and I'm actually gonna be speaking on Thursday at um for one of the presentations.

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Wow, can you tell me about that presentation?

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Yeah, so um, we're doing open mic and libraries.

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I'm doing it with my fellow co-worker, Rasheen Richardson, he's the um manager at um Richton Library Northeast, and we're gonna talk about how open mic programs can be beneficial um to the community, how you connect in any library, whether academic, school, or public library.

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So it's gonna be a fun time.

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Uh oh, that is wonderful, Brittany.

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And uh so um what are you hoping to take away from this conference?

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You're like, I came here, I'm gonna learn this.

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Yeah, so um I'm looking to take away a lot of connections, um networking.

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I've done a lot already, which has been wonderful, um, as well as learning just different um tangible tools I can take back to my location at Richmond Library Sand Hills, especially like readers advisory and how I can really engage with the community.

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Oh, that is wonderful.

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And uh uh that's great.

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Is there anything uh else you'd like to share with the SCLA community?

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Um, I would say keep going.

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Um there are so many amazing people that I've met just within the last few hours, and it's so uh wonderful to see how everyone's so passionate um and supportive of each other.

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So we're doing the great work out there, whether you're school, academic, public, um, and congratulations to all the amazing work you're doing.

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Oh, that's wonderful.

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Uh and let me ask you, uh, where where are you going to school?

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Um at University of South Carolina.

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USC.

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USC.

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Oh wow.

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Well, congratulations, that's wonderful.

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When do you graduate?

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Um, so I just started, so um, right now I'm projected for 2028.

00:02:49.599 --> 00:02:50.719
2028, okay.

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Is that a bachelor's, master's?

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It's masters.

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Oh, the master's.

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Okay, wonderful.

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2020.

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Congratulations.

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It's a journey, definitely worthwhile, well worth it.

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I remember going for my master's, it's you know it's a lot of work.

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So absolutely, but it's worth it.

00:03:04.800 --> 00:03:05.840
Yeah, absolutely.

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Well, once again, uh, thank you, Brittany Smith.

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Uh, Brittany is uh joining us uh from wonderful uh Richland County Sand Hills uh public school uh public library, and we're so happy to have you here today.

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Okay, thank you so much.