At 3 p.m. on a sunny Wednesday in Cleveland, like clockwork, parents streamed into the children’s room of the Robinson Carpenter Memorial Library with their kids in tow. The year has just started for schools in the area, and everyone is in search of a book.
A lot of things in a library change over time. The books on the shelves are crammed with copies of whatever’s in demand and new copies of old favorites. The technology is updated, and the kids grow up. But one thing that has been a constant in Cleveland’s public library is Youth Services Librarian Bobbie Matheney.
Matheney, a native of nearby Merigold, has worked in the Bolivar-County Library System since 2006. After working part time at the Merigold branch to help her elderly parents, Matheney landed a job at the Cleveland branch where she has worked for 17 years. Known for her fun outfits and bright personality, she is affectionately known by community members and patrons of the library as Mrs. Bobbie.
Though she never imagined being a librarian, she quickly realized her passion for the job.
“They have to have a book in order to use the tent. And I give them a flashlight,” said Bobbie Matheney, regarding a tepee kids use to snuggle up with a book. Matheney is the Youth Services librarian at the Robinson-Carpenter Library in Cleveland, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
“I’ve always been a people person. I got into being a librarian as a part timer, and started to enjoy it. My director told me that I finally had found my calling after working different jobs as a receptionist throughout the years,” she said. “I think it was my calling, also. I love what I do.”
Her desk is in the children’s room of the library, flanked by walls of colorful books. Next to her desk is a pair of rocking chairs, where she does story hour and show and tell with preschool and homeschooled kids on Friday morning. For young children, she says, reading is important to helping with their learning abilities.
“Reading to babies helps because they’re listening. Believe me, kids are listening to you,” she said. “You might not realize it, but reading to them while they’re young, it helps their vocabulary. It, you know, it keeps them alert. It’s just the beginning of the learning process for children.”
Families entering the library break up this conversation. As one child uses his library card for the first time, Matheney explains to him all the things he can do with it, and the money he’s saving by checking out books instead of buying them.
Kids leaving with books is Matheney’s favorite thing about her job — but it’s not always easy.
Bobbie Matheney, at the Robinson-Carpenter Library in Cleveland, where she is the Youth Services librarian, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024 in Cleveland. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
“There are those non-readers and helping them to find something on their level is challenging, because we can go through books and books and books, and it’s like, nope, nope, nope, nope,” she said. “So, it’s challenging trying to get the reluctant readers books that they might enjoy, but when they finally say yes, I celebrate.”
The Bolivar County Public Library System, at one point, operated eight libraries across the county. Three are still open — Rosedale, Merigold, and the main branch in Cleveland where Matheney works. While the role of the library has changed over time, it’s still an important community pillar in Cleveland, often going beyond just providing books for the city’s roughly 10,500 residents.
“The library has changed in order to provide more information to the community. You would be surprised by the information that we provide for people that come in,” Matheney said.
People come to the library for tax forms, voter registration forms and sometimes even to find phone numbers. Community elders often visit the library for help with electronics and electronic services. Some services, though, like the databases offered through the library, are underused. The library, Matheney said, is a learning and resource center.
While most of Matheney’s work in youth services is with younger children, she also has a passion for working with teenagers. One of her fondest memories working at the library is when she operated the Teen Advisory Group, or TAG.
“This was a group of teenagers that would come in and volunteer and plan different programs for the library,” she said. “The library is considered a safe place. I like to give teenagers something positive to do — they might not want to read a book or use the computer, but it was a safe place.”
TAG began with one teenager and at its height grew to a regular group of about 17. The goal was for the program to be something positive kids could participate in. TAG dissolved due to COVID, but it’s something Matheney wants to get started again. The library hosts teen game day every Wednesday at 3:30. And while it can be hard to get teens into the library, Matheney says you have to start somewhere.
“A lot of people focus on a lot of people participating in a program,” she said. “If you can touch one person — that means a lot.”
Cindy Williamson, her predecessor as youth services librarian, has worked with Matheney on and off nine years. She says Matheney is good with both kids and adults.
“She’s just a very personable person. She’s a firecracker and just always has a smile on her face,” she said.
Matheney couldn’t guess how many kids she had seen pass through the library during her time there. One of the highlights of her job, she said, is having the chance to watch people grow up.
J.D. Nailer, 24, chats about his artwork with Bobbie Matheney, Youth Services librarian at the Robinson-Carpenter Library in Cleveland, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
“It’s good to see some of the patrons who started out as kids coming in here,” she said. “It’s good to see them grow into adults, and it’s good for them to stop by and say, ‘Mrs. Bobbie, I just stopped by to see if you were still working here.’ Sometimes, I have to take a second look at them like — ‘who is this child? Who is this?’ You know, because they’ve grown up.”
A long-time pillar in one of the community’s most important institutions, Mrs. Bobbie is well known and well loved in Cleveland. In turn, she wants to be thought of as someone who loves everyone, too.
“Bobbie loves everybody. That’s how I want to be thought of,” she said. “Mrs. Bobbie loves everybody.”
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