Ednita Kelly’s Passion for Books and Bikes in LA
By Rosie Knight, Columnist
Ednita Kelly began her career at the Angelo M. Iacoboni Library in Lakewood. First volunteering for the Summer Reading Club before getting her first job as a page or, as she puts it as we sit behind the main desk at Wilmington Branch Library, “someone who puts away the books!” She was just 17 years old back then but within two years she knew that it was the job for her “I realized this is the place I want to retire,” she says with a smile. “I would meet kids and families and senior citizens all day. And I realized people use this library for life. So if I work in the library, I can know people for their whole lives, and I can see who these kids become. And that was fascinating to me.”
Her love of books began in childhood, before she even knew she wanted to be a librarian. “I used to check out books to my friends because I was obsessed with office stationery,” she laughs. “My mom would make me these little cards and I’d use them to check out books for people!” That love carried over and as Wilmington’s Senior Librarian she now checks out books for people all day long. As we interview Kelly, it’s clear to see how vital she is to the location as she helps people find books, DVDs, and how to print out things from the branch’s computers throughout our chat.
After studying to become a librarian at the University of Washington, it took Kelly several years to get hired back into the Los Angeles Public Library system. But when she did, she landed at the San Pedro Branch Library, which was a dream come true for her as she has a personal connection to Pedro. “My grandmother lived in San Pedro and she didn’t drive so she’d walk us around the town,” she shares. “We’d walk to Thrifty’s all the time, we’d walk to the Farmer’s Market, we’d walk to see her friends. So San Pedro has always been my favorite town. Even though I didn’t go to school there, I’ve always thought of it as my hometown.”
Kelly would go on to stay at San Pedro for 17 years with much of that time spent as the Children’s Librarian. And while she was there she created the LAPL Book Bike, which would become a viral hit. Kelly had been a professional competition cyclist when she was younger but had rediscovered her love of cycling as an adult thanks to “riding her bike for fun.” Tapping into her passion for utility biking, she applied for a grant that allowed her to create the Book Bike and tour it around San Pedro. “As the Children’s Librarian I was riding my bike to stores, to get my groceries, and to visit schools,” she shares. “At the time I was obsessed with all things Amsterdam and all their bike stuff like the Cargo Bikes, and I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool to have Cargo Bikes for the library?'” The opportunity came with a grant that Kelly and the Senior Librarian at San Pedro applied for together, and soon the grant was approved and the LAPL Book Bike was born. “As soon as we got it I was riding that thing everywhere!”
The Book Bike enabled Kelly to do even more outreach to her community and the response was overwhelming. “People were honking and waving, people pulling over and giving me books they just finished, people giving me money — which I would then hand to Jerry, our treasurer — people crying.”
The Bike also inspired memories in local folks who were inspired to share their stories with Kelly. “People were telling me it reminded them of the guys who push the paletas around, and at CicLAvia there was a Japanese lady who told me it reminded her of Kamishibai, where they ride bikes around and tell stories.”
CicLAvia is another part of Kelly’s story. In case you haven’t attended a CicLAvia yourself, the non-profit organization invites the community into public spaces by closing major thoroughfares to traffic and organizing celebrations on those car-free streets. As a regular attendee, Kelly was already familiar with the organization when she recently joined the board. “There’s something about people who read, people who go to CicLAvia, and people who use libraries. It feels like it’s just a good marriage!”
She’s hoping to bring her community-building skills from the library and her insight as a bike rider herself to the CicLAvia board. “I can give them the participant side to it. When we’re vending with the library, participants are always telling us how the event is going. I get to share those stories with everyone that they may not get to hear because they’re running the event. So I think I bring that perspective, as well as my experience as a city employee, which means I know things about working with the city that other people might not.”
Now settled into her role as Senior Librarian at Wilmington, Kelly is ready for her next chapter. “I’m really happy to be here at Wilmington as the Senior Librarian. It was a big change, I’d always planned to stay at San Pedro. I had a friend, Angela Romero, and we’d always planned to be old San Pedro biddies together. But when she passed away I realized there was really nothing keeping me there anymore. I told my boss I need new families, new community, new scenery, new challenges! So I’m here and I’m having a really great time because it’s such a different role from being the Children’s Librarian. Before it was just the patrons who needed me and now the staff needs me too. So I’m just really excited to live up to that responsibility and get out into the community.”