On any given day at the Alvin Sherman Library, a cross-section of NSU and the Broward County community can be found. In a first-floor study room, a mom, grandparent, and five-year-old child are attending a storytime. On the second floor, health professions students in scrubs are looking at a 3D print of teeth, and on the fourth floor, law students are preparing for a mock trial. This library is a place for more than just books.
Library Giving Day started as an idea generated by the Seattle Public Library Foundation. The concept was to create a national day of giving for public libraries the public would embrace. The leadership team at the Alvin Sherman Library wanted to participate by raising funds for a specific project that would highlight how the library serves both the university and the community. Meagan Albright, youth services librarian, pitched the idea of creating a family study room.
“Developing a family-friendly study room aligns with our values to create a safe and welcoming place for all library visitors, including families with young children,” said Jim Hutchens, M.S.L., vice president for information services and university librarian.
Hutchens and his team worked with University Advancement to launch a fundraising site and soon had donations from community members, alumni, students, and faculty and staff members. The goal was met with a gift from Aimee Sanchez-Zadak, M.S., Ed.D., an NSU alumna and adjunct professor. “I was touched that so many people reinvested in the university, specifically to a building I’ve worked in for 20 some years,” Hutchens said. “And Aimee Sanchez-Zadak embodies what this building is–people who love this university but also want to get involved in the community.”
Sanchez-Zadak learned about NSU nearly 30 years ago when she was working a corporate job and starting her master’s degree at another institution. A group of schoolchildren visited her office to learn about an under-sea cabling project, and their teacher mentioned NSU. The conversation spurred Sanchez-Zadak to research the university, and she ended up transferring to NSU. She earned her master’s degree in mental health counseling and her doctorate in leadership and human services. Along the way, she was invited to lead a class and fell in love with teaching college students. “I thought I was going to be working in corporate and seeing clients, but it’s funny how everything in life doesn’t have a plan,” Sanchez-Zadak said. “What I really look for in any relationship is finding a place I can call home, and I absolutely found that in NSU.”
In addition to serving as a professor at NSU, Sanchez-Zadak has worked with the university as a vendor with her company Balloonatics. When her company was called on to help the library with the StoryFest event, Sanchez-Zadak learned about the campaign for the family study room. “It speaks volumes of NSU caring about families,” she said. “While I was working on my dissertation, my girls were two and four. I would work my corporate job, come home, take care of them with my husband, and I wouldn’t start writing my dissertation until 10 p.m. If I would have had a space to go to and let them be entertained and safe while I could do my thing, I think that would have been a different story.”
In addition to seeing the practicality of a family study room, Sanchez-Zadak wanted to take the opportunity honor her mother. Her family was exiled from Cuba in 1962 and moved into a neighborhood where everyone spoke English. In spite of only speaking broken English herself, Sanchez-Zadak’s mother babysat 13 children and taught them how to read. “My mom was an amazing human who just loved teaching,” she said. “I think this room is going to be an incredible asset to our community, to our students, and I just wanted her legacy to be a part of it.”
The family study room will be available for reservations at the end of the fall semester. Plans include a bright, colorful rug, adjustable height tables, comfortable cozy seating, and age-appropriate furniture and activities. “Anyone who lives, works, or attend classes in Broward County has full, unfettered access to the library,” Hutchens said. “We want to create a place where all caregivers can bring their children to play and learn while they study.”
For more information on how to support the NSU Alvin Sherman Library, please contact Lorraine Shim, director of development , at (954) 262-2007 or via email at lorra@nova.edu.