100 Years/100 Stories is an expanding collection of stories from our community, as told through written word, photography, audio, and video. They are all unique, and yet they share a similar thread of living and learning in Saint Paul. We are proud to have been a gathering place for Saint Paul residents for 100 years and look forward to serving the city for 100 more.
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Lisa volunteers at the Rondo Library open lab, and also recently volunteered at the George Latimer Central Library during the Winter Carnival. She is currently seeking a new job in her third career as a business analyst and project manager.
Lisa volunteers at the Rondo Library open lab, and also recently volunteered at the George Latimer Central Library during the Winter Carnival. She is currently seeking a new job in her third career as a business analyst and project manager.
Lisa has several important reasons for volunteering at the library while looking for work herself. She believes in helping people and making a difference, and she believes her own job search makes her a more empathetic teacher for patrons in open lab who may be struggling searching for jobs.
Currently, in addition to volunteering in open lab helping people with job search, resumes, and other computer projects, Lisa has undertaken a project for the library. She is researching the feasibility of computer classes for small business owners, taking the time to connect with Rondo Library’s partners in small business development and beginning to work on a set of standards for what would be included in the class.
Lisa’s best advice for other job seekers is to take advantage of workshops available at area workforce centers, to try volunteering, and to hone an elevator speech and contacts at career fairs. She sees volunteering as aiding her job search by helping her stay upbeat and practice good time management. She also appreciates library resources that help her skills stay sharp, like the Dunn and Bradstreet database and Lynda.com.
Lisa’s favorite recent memory of library volunteering happened during this year’s Winter Carnival, when she witnessed a multigenerational crowd spontaneously begin telling stories prompted by a library slide show. She loves helping generate space for ad hoc communities that leave people enriched as they move on.
A very proud new @stpaullibrary card holder today. Did I mention he is 4? Couldn't wait to come home to show his dad.
— Anonymous Patron, George Latimer Central Library, 2014
We’ve come a long way. One-hundred years ago, Saint Paul Public Library (SPPL) expanded from a single building to a network of neighborhood libraries, improving access to books and resources for Saint Paul residents.
SPPL has developed a set of fun, easy-to-use tools that allow you to share YOUR story. Explore our tools below.
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