EDUCATION | JC Bigfoot

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INVESTIGATING The Jersey City Public Library

Story by Tara Ryazansky Photos courtesy of the Phyllis Greer

Have you heard about the many Bigfoot sightings in Jersey City? The creature has been spotted all over town. It was seen near Van Vorst Park, and a few days later, it was lurking by Clinton and Bergen Avenue. I decided to investigate and noticed that every sighting occurred near a branch of the Jersey City Public Library. Was it a coincidence?

Library director Terry B. Hill confi rms that it isn’t, “We call it JC Bigfoot. He or she is at a lot of events that we have out in the community. It’s a fi rst for the library to have a mascot. It seems to be pretty popular. It’s a bright blue mascot with kind of a goofy grin on its face. The kids seem to enjoy it.”

You can keep up with JC Bigfoot on social media too.

“On our Instagram, there are usually around two posts a week featuring the adventures of JC Bigfoot. It’s an animated series that one of our staff members is doing,” Hill explains. You can see the comics by following @jclibrarynj.

Hill says that JC Bigfoot is a part of a larger eff ort to get more community members interested in the library.

“We launched a campaign back in April called Power in Your Pocket,” Hill says.

Signing Up

This campaign involved sending staff members into the community at local events or simply on the street outside of library locations. They approached passersby to educate them about the power of having a library card in your pocket.

Hill says that since the beginning of the campaign around 10,000 Jersey City residents have signed up for library cards. He adds, “Those are people who have never had a library card here before.”

Signing folks up for a library card isn’t a very tough sell. “With it, you have access to all of our printed materials, of course, but there are so many resources that we provide access to for free,” Hill says. “There are things that would cost an individual thousands of dollars to get access to. We want people to see the value of having a library card and all that’s available to you with that one card.”

This includes live homework help, resume help, and various classes that range from toddler storytime to computer help for senior citizens. Cardholders can also borrow from an extensive ebook collection and browse downloadable and streaming fi lms and television shows via the Hoopla app. “We loan hotspots out to the public. People can check those out for, I believe two weeks. They can have that access to the internet and connect their device to it,” Hill says, adding that if you don’t have a device of your own, they can help with that too. “We have kits that we’ve put together where you can check out a laptop and a hotspot so that you have the internet access and a computer.”

Hill took on the role of director of the Jersey City Free Public Library last year.

“I’ve been working in libraries for 28 or 29 years. My very fi rst library job was when I was an undergrad in college. I got a part-time job at the library and just kind of stuck with it,” Hill explains. At the time, he studied music and was completing a degree in Sociology in North Carolina. He never imagined that he would have a career in the library. “You know how plans go. They change sometimes.”

For a while, Hill worked in academic libraries, but he felt called to switch to public libraries.

“I was doing a lot of community service work at the time for Guardian ad Litem as a court advocate for abused and neglected children. I did that for a number of years,” Hill would go from hearing about diffi cult custody situations to the academic setting on campus. “The thing that people would complain about there, there was such a divide. It was like living two lives or something.”

Community Impact

Hill switched focus and worked as deputy director at the Durham County Library for almost ten years.

“Once I got into public libraries, even though I wasn’t working directly with the public, it all seemed to align. Even if I was sitting in meetings all day, the work that I was doing had a direct impact in the community that I lived in. That’s what really sold me on public libraries,” Hill says.

“When the position became open here in Jersey City, I applied and was fortunate enough to be chosen,” Hill says, adding that Durham is also a diverse community with a large library system, but Jersey City is just a bit bigger and more diverse. “Having Raleigh next door to you is nowhere near like having New York City next door to you.”

As Hill heads towards his one-year anniversary as a Jersey City resident and in his position as director, he looks forward to some exciting library events.

“We will be celebrating the 100th anniversary of our Miller branch on November 5th,” Hill says that the branch’s jazz band in residence will be performing. “There’s a lot of history in that branch, not just because of the age of it, There have been some notable jazz performers come through over the years as well as community activists. We’re looking forward to celebrating the Miller Branch.”

As a part of Hispanic Heritage Month this fall, the library is also celebrating the 50th anniversary of Biblioteca Criolla. This collection is like a library within the Gardener Main Library that has original and translated Spanish language books and resources for patrons of all ages. The celebration on October 8th will include food, performances, and book signings in the newly renovated space.

Hill encourages the public to come out to these events and sign up for a library card if they haven’t already. You might just have a JC Bigfoot sighting of your own too. — JCM Visit: jclibrary.org

Photo by Phyllis Greer

Photo by Phyllis Greer