PEORIA MAGAZINE February 2023

S P O T L I G H T

NOURISHING THE BRAINS AND SOULS OF SOUTH PEORIA Lincoln Branch Library Manager Cynthia Smith, ‘superstar’

BY LAURIE PILLMAN PHOTO BY RON JOHNSON

C ynthia Smith started her career at Peoria Public Library as a children's librarian. Kids at the Lincoln Branch on Peoria's South Side instantly gravitated toward her. “Young girls were gathering around my desk. They wanted to know about my nail polish, my hair, and where I bought my clothes,” recalled Smith. “And I thought, how can I reverse this? Because I don't want it to be about me.

I want it to be about them.” Smith's desk was in the open back then, right next to the bookshelves. The historic library, built with Andrew Carnegie money back in 1910, had just over 4,500 square feet. Smith didn't let the limited space keep her from engaging young readers with innovative programming. Now, more than 20 years later, Smith is the manager of Peoria's Lincoln

Branch. A decade ago, an expansion tripled the library’s space. It means her desk is now inside an office, but Smith continues to be at the heart of the library. A ‘SUPERSTAR’ “Cynthia is a superstar to every family who visits the Lincoln Branch,” said Peoria Public Library Executive Director Randall Yelverton. “When

60 FEBRUARY 2023 PEORIA MAGAZINE