For over 80 years, the Peabody Awards have honored “stories that matter” through awarding programs and individuals for their work to “illuminate social issues with depth and complexity as much as stories that entertain and inspire.” This year, the Milwaukee Public Library was nominated for an award.
In June of 2022, the social media committee at the library started producing online content in hopes of educating the community on everything that the library has to offer. Fawn Siemsen-Fuchs, the library volunteer coordinator and one of the masterminds behind the library’s TikTok and Instagarm, said libraries were due for a rebrand, and social media was how they were going to do it.
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“I think the public perception, maybe up until five years ago, was like ‘libraries are really stuffy and the staff isn’t friendly,’” Siemsen-Fuchs said. “You see that in a lot of media.”
She used the example of a movie character walking into a library – often hushed and made to feel dumb for being in the library. But in reality, it isn’t like that.
“TikTok is kind of a way to tell our own story and take back our own narrative by creating our own media, and that kind of ties in with the Peabody because it’s the stories that matter,” Siemsen-Fuchs said.
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Evan Szymkowski, an accounting program assistant and content creator for the library, said it was shocking to find out about the nomination. “[It was] not at all something that I think myself or really anyone around here expected,” Szymkowski said.
Szymkowski said this Peabody nomination was important because it “retains immensely well” to both the mission and the values of the MPL – embodying stories that matter.
“We’re trying our best to represent that everyday here at the library, and cultivate that so our patrons can, as our motto goes, read, learn, and connect,” Szymkowski said.
Siemsen-Fuchs agreed, saying she couldn’t believe it. “[It’s] such a major honor,” Siemsen-Fuchs said. “And we honestly don’t know who nominated us for it … We’re super grateful.”
Content creation is no easy feat and Siemsen-Fuchs and Szymkowski are happy to see that the hard work that’s been put into the pages isn’t going unrecognized.
The MPL’s videos have reached far beyond the local community. Libraries all over the world have praised the MPL for their fresh take on library content creation. Last year, VISIT Milwaukee awarded them with a tourism award because the MPL videos were influencing people to plan a trip to the city.
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Siemsen-Fuchs told a story about a family who drove to Milwaukee from Georgia because they all loved the TikToks. Another story: after years of living a few blocks from the library, a man started visiting the library after his family in Pakistan had seen the library’s videos and told him to go.
Siemsen-Fuchs and Szymkowski recall growth happening fast.“There was a week where [we] had 10 followers and then all of the sudden it picked up and two of our videos went viral,” Siemsen-Fuchs said.
Szymkowski never intended for there to be growth beyond the local Milwaukee community. Global prominence wasn’t part of the plan. It began as a place to post content for local patrons and showcase library resources and perks, and grew organically from there.
“I don’t know what that would have looked like,” Szymkowski said. “I didn’t have the imagination for trying to see what an influencer-like type of page run by a library would look like.”
The award winners will be announced May 9 and a ceremony will be held at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel on June 9.
