Hannah Sparling

hsparling@enquirer.com

Cameras click all around, but the 14-year-old doesn’t notice.​

Akira Underwood is a librarian for a day at Cincinnati’s Westwood Branch Library. She’s alphabetizing books and movies that have been placed on hold, but there are several photographers there to document her day at work.

They circle quietly, shutters clicking. But Akira just keeps working.

“It’s calming,” she says of the job. “I like it. A lot.”

Akira was featured this past December in The Enquirer’s annual Wish List series when she and her grandparents asked for a tutor to help prepare Akira for high school. They got that tutor – twice-weekly sessions started just this past week – but Akira mentioned in the article that she wants to be a librarian. So, the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County set her up for a day at the Westwood branch.

Akira got a gray library shirt and an official employee ID. She alphabetized books, learned the computer system and got to explore behind staff-only doors.

“I’m really grateful that they took an interest in her,” said her grandmother, Valerie Underwood-Powers. “She’s really excited to be here. Like a celebrity for a day.”

Akira is being raised in Westwood by her grandparents. Valerie was diagnosed in June with ovarian cancer, and those medical bills are why the family couldn’t afford a private tutor.

Valerie is in remission now, and the whole family is encouraged by how much support the community is showing for Akira. Whether she ends up becoming a librarian or not, Valerie said, it’s been an inspiring experience.

“It warms my heart,” she said. “It really lets me know that there are good people in the world, people that really care about each other and our youth.”

Akira will start at Seton High School in the fall. She’s ready, she said. She hopes it’s kind of like high school in the movies. And, she hopes that with tutoring, she can make the honor roll.

“I’ve always wanted to get honors,” she said, “but I’ve never been able. I was always one grade away from getting it.”

In the reference section at Westwood branch, Akira quietly works and explains what she means about the library being calming. It’s quiet, but it’s more than that, she said. It’s calming to know how many people care.

“You don’t have to worry about anything,” she said. “You don’t have to worry about failing.”