For many students, libraries might feel more like a maze of monotony than a portal to adventure. Seen as a necessary evil for last-minute research or cramming before exams, but not a place where anyone wanted to linger. While others rolled their eyes at mandatory library visits, for Livia Chizick, a student at Northeast High School, the library was a place where her heart soared at the sight of endless bookshelves and opportunities.
“Her mom is a longtime patron of the library,” said Loren Lawrence, librarian of Ethel M. Gordon Oakland Park Library. “I hope this inspires Livia and other students.”
Livia Chizick, a senior at Northeast High School, designed a new library card. After the Ethel M. Gordon Oakland Park Library and The City of Oakland Park received over 100 amazing submissions from students across the city, Chizick has the winning design. The winning design will be featured on our new library cards starting in January and will be available to all Oakland Park library patrons while supplies last.
“She did everything digitally,” said Karen Klein, an art teacher at Northeast High School. She’s a gracious reader, extremely talented artistically, and very creative. Her design for the library card is amazing and you should see some of her other stuff, too. The talent at this school is off the chain.”
While most library cards are flat, uninspiring rectangles of beige plastic with a surface marred by faint smudges, scream functionality over flair, Chizick’s burst with vibrant hues.
“I noticed we never had a library card contest,” said Lawrence. “A lot of schools participated, and a few days before we were going to announce the winner, she [Livia Chizick] and that was our favorite one because it was fun, bright, and the card features two of her characters opening books with so much color coming out of the books.”
Lawrence and Klein both believe Chizick’s artistic expression think the days of libraries leaning more towards yawns and quiet conversations, will now lead to more wonder with the unveiling of the library’s new card—a small but transformative spark.
What was once a space people merely visited now has the chance to feel more alive, and it all started with a library card. This pocket-sized revolution turned borrowing a book into an invitation to embrace imagination within a life-long learning environment.
“She [Livia Chizick] also paints,” said Klein. “Teachers, students, and everyone loves to see this, it’s inspiring, and a portal to a new adventure.”
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