Brightside: Mr. Jake leaves a legacy at Ocean Pines Library

OCEAN PINES, Md. – In Worcester County, the emphasis on local libraries bringing much-needed resources to the community is at the forefront. A youth specialist at the Ocean Pines branch brought a whole new life and meaning to not only providing those resources but also being an instrumental educator for the next generation. Mr. Jake Nail is a man who is leaving a legacy at the library.

Jake, is better known to parents and young children in Worcester County, as Mr. Jake prides himself in his passion for education and inclusivity. “Kids are sponges and they want to learn whether or not that they know that they’re learning and they want to continue to learn,” he tells us.

A Salisbury University Alumni who got his start teaching at Showell Elementary, and accepted a position at Ocean Pines library back in 2021, as the youth services specialist. “I want every single kid that I encounter or comes to the library who’s in my class to know that there’s always someone on their team,” says Nail.

Now he’s passing the torch, as he moves on to his next teaching adventure, but it’s the legacy he’s leaving that he hopes will live on. Being hired after the pandemic, there were some changes to be made, and Nail did just that. “Books are one thing, DVDs are another thing, audiobooks are great, but resources here and the knowledge you can get. Nail tells us, “I’m sitting on the floor crawling with these babies or I’m running around the meeting room jumping like a kangaroo with a 4-year-old and it’s the light of my existence.”

Between helping to expand the summer reading program, implementing special reading times for the little ones and their parents, or his whole approach to caring for the youth and all youth at that. “I always try to make sure I’m on their level, try to make sure they’re aware of what’s going on,” says Nail. He goes on to say, “I was warned that I couldn’t help every kid and I told them to watch me. It’s giving them choices, they’re really in charge of their lives even at that young age and that’s the main thing that I want to give them.”

Nail tells us, through his experience, his focus goes beyond just teaching children how to read and write. It’s doing what it can to leave a lasting effect on each of their lives that goes beyond a classroom, building a new foundation for the next generation. “If they can all build it, I want to make sure I give them the tools to do that,” says Nail. He adds, “That’s our jobs as adults, our jobs as parents, as educators to them figure out in their lives what is going to work for them.”

He says his platform at the library especially, involves advocacy for youth mental health, bringing back banded books, supporting the LGBTQIA+ community, and creating an overall welcoming space; A space for growth, family bonding, and education.

Now Nail is moving on to his next adventure, and there are some big shoes to be filled, but the lasting impact is something he says he’ll be forever grateful for leaving. “It’s being able to know that people come to these programs specifically because either I’m here, or another family is here.” Nail adds, “Going forward, wherever I go, as long as I can make sure that every kid has a place in this cosmos, on this planet, they are here for a reason and they are going to do great things.”

Nail tells us he is moving on to a teaching position in Boston, but says he hopes the work he did at the library carries on.

For more information about resources at Ocean Pines Library, and other Worcester County branches, visit their website.