Neighborhood Partnerships

The Libraries welcomed three new faces to the staff during summer 2012 -- WorkReady students Titus Matthews, Jada Robinson and Ola Sharaf. The three worked at the Libraries for several weeks during their summer break, building professional skills and gaining insight into the world of higher education.

Titus is now a senior at George Washington Carver High School for Engineering and Science, while both Jada and Ola will be entering the Community College of Philadelphia [CCP]. The students all have an interest in the sciences and hope to pursue careers in computer engineering, criminology and engineering, respectively.

For the fifth straight year, the Libraries' Tim Siftar, delivered a series of research instruction sessions for a class of 15 rising college freshman from the nonprofit Philadelphia Futures organization. Siftar, liaison librarian for education and information science and technology, combines English, math and library research into a three-week college preparatory curriculum, conducted at the Drexel campus.

A joint researching team from The iSchool at Drexel and the Drexel University Libraries, including Kathleen Turner, Linda M. G. Katz, Gary Childs and Lenore Hardy, participated in a grant-funded project entitled “Increasing Parental Health Literacy to Optimize Pregnancy Outcomes,” from the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Middle Atlantic Region. The projected worked with the Philadelphia 11th Street Family Health Services Center to help educate pregnant women on health information.

Henry Taylor, working at W. W. Hagerty's Circulation Desk

When Henry Taylor graduates from high school next summer, he’ll be one step ahead of his peers. Taylor, a Kensington senior, is a participant in the Philadelphia Youth Network’s WorkReady Program, which matches over 5,000 young people to summer employment opportunities and service programs, where they can build skills to prepare for their eventual careers.

Taylor was matched with Drexel University, and began work in the Libraries in June 2011. Since, the enthusiastic youth has worked hard to build upon his professional skills.

“This is Henry’s first job, and we have an exciting opportunity to help him discover and build essential skills that will help him to become a successful professional,” Library Reserve Coordinator, Gina Cacace, who works closely with Henry, said.