Turning of the pages at the Florida Public Library

FLORIDA — The staff at Florida Public Library recently saw its members change as some departed and new replacements were hired.

The library employs two local teens as part-time pages year round and adds a third to help out during the annual summer reading program.

Wei Lynn Ng, who has worked at the library for three years, is off to the University of Pittsburgh to pursue a pre-med course of study. She was the salutatorian of Florida’s class of 2013.

Brandon Codi, employed for two years, will attend Rochester Institute of Technology to major in engineering. He hopes to work in the college library.

S.S. Seward juniors Caleb Pawelski and Jade Viñas have been hired as new pages.

Junior Kayla Campaña, the summer page for 2011, returned this year to assist Librarian Terry Numa with summer reading program outreach.

Pages are responsible for shelving returned library materials, reading the shelves for accuracy, dusting and cleaning materials, making simple repairs, operating office equipment, assisting patrons with technology, helping to prepare for programs and many other tasks such as watering the plants, shoveling snow and taking out trash and recyclables.

The summer page assists with children’s programs and the library’s weekly outreach programs to Village Recreation at Golden Hill Elementary School.

“Being a page is an entry level job and we’re very conscious that we are training teens in good work habits that will last a lifetime,” Library Director Madelyn Folino said in her press release announcing the changes. “There’s a lot of competition for positions here and our pages are really motivated to succeed.”

Wei Lynn and Brandon were recently presented with gift cards from members of the library staff and the board of trustees to help buy college textbooks. Hooded sweatshirts imprinted with the library logo were gifts from the Friends of the Florida Public Library.

“It’s a tradition for all of us ‘Library Moms’ to give our college-bound pages a big send-off,” Folino added. “We know they’ll be taking a piece of the Florida Public Library out into the world wherever they go.”