Sandy Shaw has been on the job three months and said she feels both at home and also as if she’s still learning the ropes in her role as the library director at the Community Free Library in Holley. Prior to becoming the library director she worked as a clerk in the library for eight years. “After being here for that long I decided to pursue my degree and when the position opened I applied and was hired,” she said. After working as a clerk for so long, Shaw said she wanted to expand on what she knew and learn more about the tasks involved with running a library that she didn’t know. “I knew I loved working with patrons and books, but learning to manage a library was truly a dream,” she said. “Also, in this position, I am just able to expand on all of the things I love about being in a library.” After receiving her degree in Library Science from the University of Buffalo, she said she had “101 emotions” when she came back to the Holley facility. “I was thrilled to pieces to be here and a lot of the women I worked with as a clerk were still here,” she said. “I felt a bit lost at sea because I now had all of these other responsibilities facing me. I went through the full gamut of emotions.” The job has been a dream come true, she said. “This is a great village to work in. The library has great patrons and I love the people I work with.” Shaw said she has plans in the works for future outreach programs. Some of those include the formation of a young adult readers group. The group is open to youth age 12 to 18. “We’re planning to choose a book a month and have discussions,” she said. The library is also working out an incentive reading program for children from kindergarten to fifth grade. “There will be a deal worked out with Jonathan’s Bakery where if the kids read a certain number of books, they will get a certificate to go to the bakery and receive a cookie,” Shaw said. In the works for adults is a long term loan program where the library will deliver books to sites in Clarendon, Holley and Kendall that will be available for loan on a long term basis - up to three months. “We know there are adults out there who want to borrow books but it isn’t convenient for them to come here to pick up or deliver books and they want the books for a longer period of time,” she said. Also in the library there will be a free, open to the public, mini-concert performed by the Holley Elementary School band. The concert is scheduled for December 15 from 6:45 to 7:45 p.m. On December 29 there will be a PJ Story Hour from 6 to 7:15 p.m. “We’ll read the children a story, maybe do a craft with them and when the parents take them home at the end of the program, they will already be in their pajamas and will be ready to be popped into bed,” Shaw said. As for the future, Shaw said she and her staff are always involved in learning the new technologies that are available. “We need to keep up with what’s going on so we can help the patrons when they come in the doors,” she said. “I really hope that more people will come to visit us and see all of the things we have going on.” For information about the library call 638-6987. December 11, 2005 |
