John Bernardi, manager of Omaha Public Library’s Charles B. Washington Branch, died Saturday, October 31 from complications of H1N1 Flu. His funeral is Wednesday, Nov. 4 at 1 p.m. at Korisko Larkin Staskiewicz Funeral Home, 5108 F St. The visitation is Tuesday evening, 7-9 p.m.

Charles B. Washington Branch, 2868 Ames Ave., will be closed Wednesday, November 4, in honor of the memory of John.

John joined the Omaha Public Library staff in January 1988 as an adult reference librarian. He was promoted to manager of Charles B. Washington Branch in November 2000. He received his Master of Library Science from Indiana State University, and worked at Council Bluffs Public Library as a bookmobile librarian and at Southwest Iowa Regional Library before coming to Omaha Public Library.

John was instrumental in making Charles B. Washington Branch the center of the North Omaha community. Each year he continued the tradition of Kwanzaa, organized the June Family Fair celebrating Juneteenth, held Prime Time Family Reading Time®, and worked with teens and community members to start a talk show called The Main Concern. With funding from donors, he helped established summer activities called Friday Night Youth Summer Jumpoff for teens and Thrilling Thursdays for younger children. John and his staff organized book clubs, held art shows, and arranged an adult job fair each year which drew an average of 1,500 job seekers. While the Charles B. Washington Branch was being remodeled in 2005/06, John managed a temporary location where he worked to bring the surrounding community to the new location with programs and reading activities, as well as continuing the many programs he had established.   

John was a tireless worker for literacy and the library community. He served on the board of the Literacy Center of the Midlands, was editor of the Nebraska Library Association’s quarterly publication NLAQ and was on numerous committees for the statewide Nebraska Library Association.

His enthusiasm, boundless energy, belief in the importance of libraries and literacy, and his infectious chuckle will be greatly missed by his coworkers and the community.

Memorials may be sent to the Omaha Public Library Foundation or to the Literacy Center of the Midlands.