Desmond London Sr. didn’t initially set out in his career to become a librarian. But a library happened to provide a lightbulb moment for him that inspired him to change course.
London graduated with a bachelor’s degree in information studies and technology from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. His program happened to be housed in the same building as the university’s library sciences building, so he interacted with faculty and students from that program often. After completing his degree, he began working in IT at the university’s library, and also worked in the circulation department at the Milwaukee Public Library. Three young kids – he estimates somewhere between ages 10-14 – used to come in daily while he was working, causing issues for some of the staff members. After witnessing their actions, London asked if he could step in and help.
“They were coming to the library, causing a ruckus, getting kicked out every day,” London said. “One day after I was there for a little bit, I said, ‘Hey, let me talk to them.’ I took them in the other room and I kinda talked to them like an uncle. I said, ‘Hey, listen, y’all know y’all can’t do that stuff here. So what do y’all need? Like, what’s up?’ And they took to it, and they’d come look for me every day, and their behavior changed. And so I was like, ‘Oh, I can provide something to libraries that’s different.”
London reached out to the assistant dean at his alma mater, received an assistantship and re-enrolled to pursue a master’s degree in library science.
“Once it (the assistantship) was approved, I was like, ‘Well, this is where I want to go, this is the path,’” London said.
That moment with those kids also was prophetic, because years later, in his new role as executive director of the Gloria Coles Flint Public Library, he sees tremendous opportunity to serve teenagers in the community.
Meeting the Community Where It’s At
The library sits right next door to the former Flint Central High School campus, where Flint Community Schools is currently building a new high school that is expected to be finished in 2027. A few blocks away on Kearsley Street, Flint Cultural Center Academy, a charter school, announced plans to build a new high school in June that is expected to open in 2029.
Construction of those facilities means there will be an influx of teens in the Cultural Center on a daily basis, and London, who took over as executive director in April and is the first African American man in that role in the library’s history, wants the library to be ready to create a space for them with abundant programming that meets their needs and interests.
“We have two high schools popping up, so we have to really take an approach to make sure we’re doing even more programming for teens and we have a safe space for teens in general because of the influx of high school students that are gonna be in the area,” London said.
Communities nationwide are grappling with how to provide social space and opportunities for teenagers. “Third spaces” that were traditionally lower-cost, teenager-coded places to hang out like shopping malls, bowling alleys, or arcades have either dwindled or priced teens out of being able to access them. Even entry-level jobs that used to be commonly filled by teenagers have also decreased. The lack of those spaces and opportunities has resulted in more isolation and less face-to-face social opportunity for high school-aged kids.
London thinks that is a challenge that libraries are actually well-positioned to take on.
“I think we are positioned to do that, and I think we have an obligation to do that,” London said. “Not only because of it being super important to their formative years, but also because if you don’t give teens a space to be social, you’re creating chaos for your city, for your neighborhoods. You have to give kids in that age group a healthy outlet. And part of that involves re-revisioning what libraries are because we’re in a different time than we’ve ever been in where technology is huge. So whether that means creating e-sports teams, whether that means gaming clubs, you gotta get people in when it comes to teens. It would be great to only do book clubs. That would be really cool. But teens aren’t gonna come to just that, so you have to meet them where they’re at. It speaks to a bigger issue of teens, in my opinion, not really feeling welcome anywhere. And that in, in my eyes, translates to things like crime and other issues that are bigger. And so systems like libraries are obligated to stand in the gap and address some of those issues.”
Since taking the position in Flint, London has been impressed with the staff at Gloria Coles Flint Public Library and the many ways they are already filling some of those gaps in the community, including taking some of their programming on the road to parks and other spaces to make them more easily accessible to people who may not be able to get to the library often, and providing services like an in-house food pantry for patrons who are dealing with hunger and food insecurity.
“The staff here is great,” he said. “They’re doing a really good job of engaging folks, and we’re always looking to learn and grow and fill in different positions to ensure that we can to meet the community’s needs. It is a connecting space. I see every aspect of the community make its way through these doors. Anytime I walk around this library, there’s important meetings going on, whether it be Flint Neighborhoods United, Genesee Chamber meetings, things like that just pop up. A lot of what we’re doing for children’s literacy and how we’re digging in on that, I think that’s really cool to watch and to see some passionate librarians doing good work within these walls and it also gives me a lot of happiness to watch how we move outside these walls. We’re in the neighborhoods, we’ll go to the parks, we’ll go to the schools, we’ll go to different institutions and partner up to make sure that the library’s visible everywhere.”
London’s vision for libraries and the impact they can make by venturing out of their building was inspired in part by time he spent in San Antonio participating in a program called ‘Libraries Without Borders.’
“We did some programming at laundromats,” London said. “What I took from that was that libraries are an idea and a thing that you can take with you to other places. It’s essential that we meet people where they’re at, that we’re able to bring resources where they’re at, and just show that as an institution, we care.”
In addition to expanding teen programming in Flint, London also sees opportunities down the road to use their space and resources to expand access to technology and entrepreneurial tools.
“I feel like we could be a really strong technology and entrepreneurial hub,” he said. “I really am looking to partner with organizations in the city and be strategic about providing opportunity through technology and entrepreneurship, all while continuing to address literacy rates. We focus a lot on children with literacy, but I think it’s important to also consider their parents and make sure that we’re providing resources that will encourage stronger literacy even with adults.”
Finding Connection in Flint
Prior to taking the position in Flint, London worked in both public and academic library settings and was most recently the assistant branch manager with the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District. In that role, he managed daily operations for a busy library system, supervised staff, oversaw budgets and policies, and expanded community partnerships and programming, among other roles. He was attracted to the position in Flint for many reasons, but one central element is that he’s a Midwest guy at heart.
“Being from Milwaukee, I thought it was really cool to come back to the Midwest where my roots are,” London said. “I feel like I understand the Midwest. And then just looking at some of the socioeconomic conditions, that’s where I wanted to always work as a librarian, but especially as a director, where you could really get in the mud and create positive change. I saw opportunity here with some of the things that the city was dealing with. I just thought that this would be an exciting place to do work that I’m passionate about.”
London is excited about several things on the horizon in the coming weeks, including a visit from members of the Detroit Lions organization at 11:15 a.m. on July 21 as part of the library’s summer reading initiative. He also said they’ve been gathering community input on their strategic plan and are planning to unveil that later in the year.
His transition to Flint has been mostly seamless, though, because the community has embraced him in the familial way that is familiar to Flintstones — he even mentioned stopping at Spectacular Spudz downtown, just to get a quick meal, and having people recognize him and welcome him.
“Early on, I was trying to find somewhere to eat and I found Spudz, so I went down to get a potato thinking I’m gonna be low-key,” London said. “People knew who I was already and greeted me, I wasn’t expecting that. I thought I could slip into places but I realized that it’s a really close-knit community. I’ve not felt more at home anywhere, even in Milwaukee. A lot of places I go, someone greets me and knows who I am already, and it’s always been with a lot of care and love. I really love it here, it feels like home.”
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