Tammy Blackwell (left) stands with Nancy Petty during Petty’s retirement party at the Marshall County Public Library in Calvert City.
Merriam-Webster defines sanctuary as a place of refuge and protection. Tammy Blackwell isn’t a place, but she’s certainly been a sanctuary for the community’s youth for the duration of her adult life.
Blackwell, the branch manager for Marshall County Public Library’s Calvert City branch, served for several years as the young adult librarian, building the position and the program from its roots. Blackwell took the YA concept and turned it into more than just a reading program in the county; Benton Branch Manager Lenisa Jones said Blackwell gave the program life and, in turn, reached the county’s tweens and teens in a way that few could.
“When she started, she was actually hired as like a circulation staff,” Jones said. “That program at the time … it didn’t exist. It was still kind of new, and a lot of libraries were trying to figure out how to promote something for that age group. She was actually a fan of young adult literature and read a lot of those books herself, so she was kind of a perfect fit. She got to talking to some of the kids, and she could direct them in the right place for books of their interest, and from then on she just kind of … got it going.
“We started doing some small programs, and then from there it kind of built,” Jones added. “She had a core group that as they were in that age, in the early stages of probably like … eighth grade to high school. They came back. Each summer they would return and attend programs, and a lot of that was because of her. They really related to her.”
Relatable and fun by nature, Blackwell has a sharp sense of humor and a creative way of becoming a conduit for the best of ideas to flourish. Jones said she frequently consults Blackwell on ways to improve programs or introduce new initiatives at the library. She has a natural aptitude for developing strategies to promote the library system, and Jones said Blackwell backs it up with energy and enthusiasm.
“She had some great ideas for programming and some great things that not only just the interest of the books they were reading, but she is so good at coming up with games and activities,” Jones added. “She can plan events and things like that that are relateable but fun. So, it kind of piqued their interest, because you know, teenagers sometimes they’re a hard group to target what’s going on at the time, but she did a really good job of really listening to them. … She had a group for a while that was really into the Cosplay, so she had semi-professional Cosplay group come in and speak, and they showed some of their tips and techniques and stuff like that. … If there’s something out there like that, she’s going to find them.”
Blackwell has been instrumental in building connections between members of the community and high school students. In years past, Jones said Blackwell adapted a program offered in another school district, which paired members of the community with groups of students to read young adult literature and lead discussions after school centered around that reading. “Reading and Ranting,” as it was known in Marshall County proved successful in its run, Jones said, working to establish a link between the library systems in the school and those in the county. Blackwell has hosted a number of writers workshops for both students and adults, as well.
It’s about more than doing her job well, though. Jones said it stems from the want to bring the best to her community.
“She’s very passionate about things, especially when it comes to some of the parts of our job, getting the word out and letting people know what the library does and what the library has to offer,” Jones said. “… I think, her personality, she wants to help people. She wants everybody to have the same opportunities and advantages and knowledge. Working at the library, at the end of the day, you know it’s not just like you come in and your doing a 9-to-5 job that doesn’t affect other people. At the end of the day she may have helped somebody who was looking for something or helped find information to somebody who had no where else to go. When she was working with teenagers, that teenager if they had a bad home life or if they didn’t have anybody else to go to, they could always go to her.”
Daniel Sills, a student at Marshall County High School and participant in the YA program at the Calvert City branch knows it well. Sills said he’d gotten involved with the program through his older sister Kathryn, who had also participated in the library’s YA activities. Sills said Blackwell during her tenure as YA librarian had worked to ensure that students’ interests were addressed, staying informed on emerging trends and keeping open lines of communication with kids. Blackwell spent countless hours working to make the program “fun,” Sills said.
“She was awesome,” Sills said. “We did all sorts of activities, from arts and crafts one week to orbis descriptors, which is a creative writing group. She had the YAAP program, which stands for Young Adult Advisory Panel, so there was a select group of us that would help her to oversee all of the other young adult programs, which was very cool. … Whenever she was the leader, she always kind of brought the spirit and the joy to the group.”
Sills said one of his favorite things about Blackwell is her creativity, particularly as it relates to her works of fiction. Blackwell, in recent years, has authored a series of YA novels and novellas. Her works build another bridge between herself and the students for which she cares.
“She was always such a super hard worker on all the YA programs,” he said. “We do a big, kind of, summer blowout event. … She always took it a step above and beyond. There were raffle prizes, and prizes for the best costume and things like that there, which were very cool.
“Her books are really good,” Sills added. “I haven’t read all of them, but I’ve read the first one and it is excellent. They’re teen/young adult novels, so obviously not everyone’s cup of tea, but they’re awesome. She’s a phenomenal writer. That’s another way my sister was involved with her. Whenever Miss Tammy gets done with a draft of it or something, she’ll send it over to my sister and she still pre-reads and things like that.”
Though she no longer runs the YA program at the library, Blackwell maintains her connection with the community’s youth. When she’s not busy building a literary universe or managing the day-to-day operations of the Calvert City branch, she serves in the local Rotary Club and on the Youth Services Center Advisory Council. Glenda Byers, director for the Youth Services Center – which provides goods and services to underprivileged students in middle and high school and their families – said Blackwell has played a critical role on the council throughout the years.
“They are our link – it’s basically a networking tool for us – they help us write our grants, we do a needs assessment every other year and they help us with that. Just kind of giving perspectives from different parts of the community,” Byers said. “She brings a lot to the table, and she’s great about bringing stuff up at our meetings – concerns and giving us good feedback – she’s a good, active member. … A lot of times she is the first one to speak up, and to say ‘Hey, I’m willing to do whatever.’ In the summer we do home visits, and a few years ago I said something about kind of wanting some books to take along on our home visits, and the next thing I know she’s come through at the library and has brought us a bunch of new books to carry out to the community. You mention any kind of need, she’ll be one of the first ones to be all over it.”
Byers said she’s not even sure if Blackwell herself knows what an impact she is on the community. Blackwell takes her role as library director and former YA librarian as more than a job; Byers said Blackwell is very alert when it comes to watching out for the well being of the kids who cross her path. More than once, she has called the center to speak with staff about helping fill a need in a child’s life that center personnel have not yet seen.
“She has just got a genuine love for these kids,” Byers said. “We work with her a lot with her … if she sees a kid that she is concerned about, she’s a great referral source for us, because she’s got a unique perspective on some of those kids that come to their after school programs. She is good about calling us and telling us, ‘You may watch out for these kids, we see this going on.’ … She did call me one day very concerned, really it was just kind of a hygiene concern initially, but it was a child I’d never met. I was able to take that referral … and in meeting with that child realized that there was a lot of other things going on in that home and the hygiene concern was just the tip of the iceberg. Through her referral we were able to do a lot of work with that kid and build a good relationship. And I think a lot of times, with her, she’ll make that quick phone to me, but I don’t think she realizes what a big impact that has. Just that simple call to us starts a chain reaction of better things happening for that kid.”
She makes her presence felt in the school system, as well. Byers said there isn’t a child in Calvert City who is unfamiliar with “Miss Tammy,” and that’s just the way she likes it.
“You say something about Miss Tammy and the kids at school all knew her,” Byers said. “She’s great about at the end of the school year, she comes in and talks to all of the kids, and they all know Miss Tammy and love her. … She serves as a great role model for them. … She makes it her mission to take kids under her wing that maybe that don’t have somewhere else they fit in. I know she’s planned some of her programs in the past wanting to find, you know, connect kids that have similar interests. … She’s very approachable to everybody, kids and adults alike.”
Blackwell doesn’t limit her kindness to children and teens, though. Blackwell’s sister, Crystal Blackwell, said she’s witnessed her sister on many occasions take away from her own time to come to the aid of another.
“We had received word one weekend close to Christmas time that there was a couple that had been traveling through the area, and they’d been in a car wreck,” Crystal said. “They didn’t have anything, they didn’t have money for anything. They were kind of stranded with the clothes on their back that had been torn, and they couldn’t get to their car or anything like that because of the wreck. Tammy started gathering supplies and things to at least get them through a couple of days.”
Crystal said her sister has always strived to be a champion for others who need someone in their corner, too. She said Blackwell is always willing to accept those who feel unaccepted, to offer support and make it her mission to let them know that they are loved and welcomed. It’s one of the qualities she finds most admirable and part of what makes her a role model not only to the youth who know her, but to Crystal as well.
“Tammy is actually somebody that I’ve always admired, even as a child,” Crystal said. “She might be surprised to find that out. You know, she’s always stood up for anybody that she saw needed somebody to step in. She’s always championed equal rights for everyone. She always wants to make sure that people know that they have a safe place. Especially teenagers, working with them for so many years, she always wanted to make sure that she was available for them and let them know that whatever they needed to talk about that she would be there to listen and help however she could. I’ve seen some of the phone calls that she’s had to take, things that teenagers might have felt uncomfortable talking to a teacher about or talking to their parents about, they shared with her.”
Hardworking and dependable, Crystal said Blackwell is the source of boundless energy. Working diligently in her role with the community’s youth and at home as a mother to 6-year-old Haley. Juggling career, volunteer efforts and parenthood, Crystal said she is often amazed at all her sister does.
“I don’t think everybody realizes how much of a hard worker or how much she cares for those around her, that she truly feels for them,” Crystal said. “To work a normal job and come home and help a child with their school and do creative and fun things with them, and then also write several books and novellas – I would be stressed out. I only do two of those things, and that stresses me out or sometimes I’m just like, ‘I need a break from everybody,’ and Tammy just soldiers on and doesn’t complain.”
She is, at once, her inspiration, her support and her friend.
“She challenges people around her,” Crystal said. “She has high expectations that make you always want to meet those, but she’s also very caring and understanding. … She is very accommodating. She tries to make sure that everybody is comfortable around her. It’s the small acts that anybody else probably wouldn’t think to do. She notices those and goes about the best way to accommodate them but not draw attention to it. She’s very considerate.
“We’re very close,” she added. “We talk on a daily basis. I would definitely say she’s my best friend.”