Lincoln Public Library hires first paid high-school interns with $54,000 grant

City Library staff on Tuesday introduced the first paid high-school internship cohort in the Lincoln Public Library's history and summarized the federal grant that funded the program.

Catherine Hunt, Director of Library Services, said the library received about $54,000 through a Teen Succeed grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, administered by the California State Library. The grant funds pay intern stipends, staff time to supervise the interns, and materials to support intern-designed programs and collection development.

"We are offering five paid internships through a Teen Succeed grant," Catherine Hunt said. "We received 78 applications for five positions from youth throughout our city ... it took a lot of work on my team to whittle that down to our top 19 who we interviewed."

Hunt introduced the five interns — Grayson Zimmy, Adeline O'Vera, Leilani Bogar, Charvi Gangavarapu and Kylie Emerante — and described their duties. Since beginning in February, staff said the interns have worked at the circulation desk, learned cataloging and customer service, developed a March program called a "Beast Battle Bracket," supported family story time sessions and are arranging an author visit. The interns will remain with the library through June.

Hunt and council members emphasized that paid stipends make the positions more accessible and give participating youth hands-on workplace experience. Council members praised the large applicant pool and the program's design; Mayor Andrea Andreatta and others asked a few lighthearted questions to the interns during the presentation.

Ending: The library requested no council action; staff said they would be happy to return with updates on intern programs and outcomes.