2 weeks Ago
Carol Inskeep received an unexpected gift after her toddler’s tantrum at the Urbana Free Library — an invitation to return. Carol and her partner had just moved here from Chicago. Besides having a toddler under 2, she was also 6 months pregnant on that cold winter day.
“To my great embarrassment, he had a meltdown while I was putting on his snowsuit, crying loudly and making quite a scene,” she recalls of her first visit to the Urbana Free Library. “As we were leaving, the librarian was so warm and reassuring — and she called my son by his name. She said she hoped to see us again soon.
That small kindness meant the world to me.” And that act of kindness kept Inskeep coming back to the library — first as a new mom, then as a part-time circulation clerk. Today, nearly 30 years later, Inskeep has a master’s degree in library science and makes sure she knows everyone’s name.
Because that’s what librarians do, she says. Their job is to help people, to create a space where everyone feels welcome — even if their toddlers are having meltdowns. “I hope to be that person to others who come to the library now,” she says.
Inskeep loves welcoming library newcomers — whether from down the street or across the globe. And her dedication is a big reason the C-U Immigration Forum is presenting the library with its Community Impact Award this weekend. Sunday’s 11th annual Immigrant Welcome Awards — held at Inskeep’s workplace — is part of Champaign County Welcoming Week 2024.
Inskeep does so much more than remember names, too. She gets to know people and their stories. She listens.
“I’ve heard so many tough stories of people who have fled violence or desperate situations,” she says. “I’m especially heartbroken helping people desperate to reunite with family members they have had to leave behind. One Colombian man often shows me photos of his much-loved family when he comes in to use computers.
“Another man from Lebanon asked for books about PTSD because he still struggles with sleep and anxiety after living through war,” she adds. “He was such a sweet man, but so filled with worry. “One Haitian man who was always studying and reading at the library told me he was a medical professional in his home country, but his credentials are not recognized here.
I will always remember what he said to me, referring to his struggles trying to have a dignified life now: ‘You are meeting me when I’m at the bottom, but I wasn’t always at the bottom.’ “I’m so happy to say that he just passed his exams to get into medical school!” ‘The ambassador’ Citlaly Stanton met Inskeep on one of her first outings shortly after moving here from Mexico in 2014. She didn’t know anyone outside of her husband’s family.
She was feeling out of place, unsure and lonely. But then she ran into Inskeep. “She’s been like the ambassador of the library,” Stanton says.
“Carol is amazing, always smiling, making everybody feel at home. She makes us feel like everything is accessible to us — and she loves my kids. “But I feel like she loves everybody’s kids, you know? It feels like we are a part of her family because of the way she treats us.
She makes us feel like she is our best friend.” Stanton says she doesn’t know much about Inskeep, though. That’s because Inskeep doesn’t talk about herself much.
Rather, she asks good questions and listens carefully. She makes you feel special and safe — like you’re the only person in the entire library at that moment. It would be easy to spend an afternoon spilling your guts to her, as many surely do.
Inskeep was a social worker before becoming a librarian. The demands of needing to be in Chicago courtrooms weren’t lining up with the demands of being a new mom. But when she started working at the library, she realized her skills as a social worker could come in handy.
“You can meet people from all over the world, you meet people of every religious or political opinion — and you just get a chance to be helpful to people,” she says. “That’s your job, just to be helpful, be curious. If you love doing that, it’s the most meaningful thing in the world.
” It’s meaningful to the people she meets, too. Just ask Jean Rene Balekita. Back in the Democratic Republic of Congo, he enjoyed a successful career as a musician and instructor.
Some of his videos have hundreds of thousands of views. But when he got to Urbana in 2015, he felt lost and alone. He didn’t know where to begin or how to restart his life here.
Then Inskeep invited him to perform at the library and share his gift with the community. It was a good turnout. And it gave him hope.
“I was trying to do my best through my music,” he says. “I was proud of myself.” Others took note of his talents.
Soon, he earned a scholarship to pursue his master’s and doctorate at the University of Illinois, where he is researching the relationship between music and religion in central Africa. “I have to do my master’s, I have to do my Ph.D.
Because I am not only a musician, I am someone who will share and teach others,” he says. In between his studies and raising a family, he helps organize the Ngoma African Festival, an outdoor dance, music and art celebration — in partnership with the library, of course. ‘Compassion and respect’ While stories like his uplift Inskeep, how some leaders speak about immigrants poses challenges, especially for someone with a heart as big as hers.
“It hurts a lot to see hate and ignorance about immigrants,” she says “Often, when I’m working with someone in difficult circumstances, I think, ‘What if it were me going through what this person is facing? What if my children were in a dangerous situation back home in another country? What if I were the one trying to learn a new language or understand a completely foreign culture?’ “I wish our leaders spoke about immigrants with compassion and respect. I long for a world where all of us are safe and able to live a dignified and meaningful life. “I also think about how much people miss out on by not being curious or respectful of other cultures,” she says.
“There is so much that is so beautiful and interesting beyond our own experience — the music, the food, the customs, the history.” Inskeep and the library staff love to celebrate people and their cultures. You can see it on the shelves and displays.
You can hear it when they sing “Happy Birthday.” “Once, when it was a Project READ tutor’s birthday, we all gathered, and each student took a turn singing the birthday song of their home culture to her,” she says. “ It was such a touching glimpse into their cultures to hear about their birthday customs and listen to them sing in their own language.
It was moving for all of us.” It is these connections and impromptu cultural exchanges that make the Urbana Free Library so special. The programs are also a big deal — like Monday-morning Project READ, “Latin American Story Time” for kids and one of Inskeep’s personal favorites, the library’s seed exchange, offering free packets for patrons.
She gets a kick out of seeing how little things like seeds can make the biggest impact — especially in the everyday lives of immigrants, some of whom have never been in a library. “I’ve learned that many countries don’t have anything like the public libraries we have in the United States, and it’s very special to introduce people to a place where everything is free and shared by the community,” she says. “It’s a place where you are invited to come and read or use a computer or play with your kids.
And it’s a place where staff can help you get on the Wi-Fi, or find an (English as a Second Language) book, or do crafts with your child. “I love seeing people come in to look for herbs, flowers or vegetables that they have in their home country or use in their native foods. I helped someone recently who had immigrated to the U.
S. but had to leave their musical instruments behind — he couldn’t believe that he could check out a guitar for himself and a keyboard for his child. And our sewing machines are popular with women who love sewing their own clothing using traditional cloth.
” The library seems to have the best of all worlds. It’s small enough to not get lost but big enough to spread out at your own tucked-away table. The staff also seems to have thought of every little thing you couldn’t possibly remember to bring.
For example, let’s say you were about to record an interview with the coolest librarian ever, and your phone is about to die. They have every charger imaginable for you to check out — not to mention the nicest librarians at the technology desk on the second floor. Whatever you need help with — from printing a form to learning a new language — the Urbana Free Library has you covered.
But when you need more than that — a friend, a hug or someone to help you pick your tantrum-throwing toddler off the ground — well, the library has that covered, too. Just make sure to ask for Carol Inskeep. Honor roll The six recipients of Immigrant Welcome Awards, to be honored at 1:30 p.
m. Sunday at the Urbana Free Library by the CU Immigration Forum: The Urbana Free Library BR Bikes and Repairs Jazmin Olivas Gioconda Guerra Perez Danie Vergara Helen Zhang, Immigrant Leadership Award.
