COLUMN: Reflections: OCPL director to retire in April

The time has come for me to write my last newspaper article as Director of the Owen County Public Library; I am about to embark on that new adventure called “retirement.” My last day at OCPL will be Friday, April 25.

I am so thankful to have had the privilege of serving as Director of the library these last 12 plus years. I am very proud of the work we have done at OCPL, and the part I was able to play in our accomplishments here, all the things we have built and services we have added.

I want to thank the OCPL Board that hired me: Frank Coffin, Don Taylor, David Weaver, Dodie Schinske and Myrna Fields. Barbara Winders joined the board within a year or two, joining a core group that I called my Dream Team Library Board. I was so pleased to find that they were all library users, which makes such a difference in the viewpoint of a library trustee. I came to rely on them so much for advice, guidance, encouragement and eventually, friendship.

I am so blessed to have worked for and with such caring people. They have been supportive of our desire to be of service to this community in all the various ways we have endeavored to serve. They have shown concern for our staff and have lived up to their responsibility to monitor the way taxpayer money is spent. I think that our new director will find that she is serving with her own “dream team” of board members.

Our four administrators, each manage their own department, their own staff, and their own budget. They order their own materials and services, hire their own staff and never go over the budget I give them each year. Thank you so much, Debbie, Anne, Brad and Amy for your commitment to the library. I have enjoyed these 12 years of working together.

Thank you, programmers, past and present, your work requires so much coordination, commitment, patience, imagination, at times empathy and the ability to see patrons’ needs and the heart to want to meet those needs. Thank you, Cyndi, Brooke, Hannah and most especially, Jenn for all that you all put into being so amazing, and Scott, our Bookmobile driver extraordinaire!

Thank you to all our clerks from past years, and our current and new clerks for the great customer service you provide. Thank you all for your friendly smiles, listening ears, and great book recommendations. For the extra responsibilities you have taken on, thank you, Nikota, Jessica, Jennifer and Nick.

Fond memories of Laura continue as we welcome Shannon. I am confident she is going to excel at the genealogy position.

Thank you to both of the hard-working, driven Adult Education directors we have had, for preserving this much-needed program. You change lives.

We threw so much work at our bookkeeper, Ale, when she first started here! It’s a wonder she ever took the job. But she faced every difficulty as a challenge, with patience and unbelievable competence.

Thank you, Tyler, for keeping our technology up to date, secure and running smoothly.

Thank you, B.J., for all you put into teaching and meeting the needs of your students.

Thank you to the many individuals, businesses and organizations who have donated in various ways to the work of the library. Special thanks to Tom and Kaye Earney for making the library pavilion possible; to the Owen County Community Foundation, for helping us with project after project. To Cook and Boston Scientific for your donations. To the more than 62 individuals who help fund testing fees for the Learning Center students working for their GED.

Thank you to our very dear Friends of the Library group, for all your hard work and support. You are all wonderful, and I don’t know what we would do without you.

To our patrons, I have come to know and love so many of you and will miss seeing you on a regular basis. Thank you for making this job such a happy experience.

Remember that the library is here to uphold the First Amendment rights of freedom of speech, freedom of the press and freedom to peaceably assemble for every resident of Owen County. If you can walk through the library and not find any books you agree with, we aren’t doing our job. If you can walk through the library and can’t find any books you disagree with, we aren’t doing our job. A public library should provide different points of view for your consideration.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve Owen County for the last 12 years. Please welcome our new Director, Brittany Van Hook.

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