Get to Know: Theresa Munka

The first time Theresa Munka traveled to London, everything was familiar to her. The sights, the smells, the people – she had seen it all before, without ever leaving the country.

She had traveled there, and the rest of the world, in books.  

Today, as the teen librarian at the of the Akron Summit County Public Library, she brings together local youth to socialize, learn and “travel”­–all through books. 

Building a community feel

Munka has been the teen librarian at the Fairlawn Bath branch for four years. The kids she works with, in grades six through 12, are the best part of her job, she said.

“Teens often get a bad rap. They have a reputation of being difficult or judgmental,” Munka said. “But the opposite is true. They are problem solving, helpful, go-with-the-flow kind of people.”

Munka works to help teens feel a sense of community through their library. Because of the library’s location, this is her biggest challenge.

“At this location, there is no group of kids that come after school, like at some of the other branches,” said Kelli Hamilton, the early childhood librarian. “Theresa has to really work for creative programs that the teens want to make a special trip for.”

Giving teens a challenge

On Monday, the library’s annual summer reading program began. At the Fairlawn Bath Branch, teens can pick up a bingo card with places around Summit County in the squares. To win prizes, teens have to go to the spots on the card that Munka put together.

“The theme for this summer is ‘you are here,’ ” she said. “It’s a very live local kind of feel. My hope with the bingo card is that kids get a chance to go places they maybe haven’t been before.”

Munka believes in the importance of sending teens out into the community, but also works to bring them back to the library through programming. Teens both attend the events and volunteer to plan them.

Her hit program is called Project Runway, named after the Bravo television show.

“Teens sign up to be a designer or a model,” Munka said. “The designers don’t know what material they will be working with until they get here. They have two hours to work, and then there is a runway show.” 

Although events like Project Runway are not directly related to books, Munka believes they are an effective way to help teens develop.

“I want them to get the chance to meet teens they don’t go to school with or wouldn’t normally know,” Munka said. “They come, they work together to solve a problem, and they have a good time.”

Sharing a love of books

Along with fun programs and community exploration, Munka’s job is the obvious: getting kids to read. 

Her passion for books (she reads at least two different books a day and has read Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice over 20 times) shines through as she collects, reads, and recommends teen fiction. 

“You can find ideas in a book, like things that you believe but never had great words for, or totally different points of view that you can live out safely in the pages of a book,” Munka said.

Check out the library events calendar for more information on programs at the library for all ages.