New children's librarian at Seymour Library

Children's librarian Kathleen Phillips in the story tower of Seymour Library. Phillips believes that the way the books are organized and displayed is important to making the library useful. "I have lots of ideas of things I want to add to the (library's) collection," she said. Photograph by D. M. Flynn.

New children's librarian at Seymour Library

"When I drove up to the Seymour Library for the first time I thought, Whoa! It's beautiful!" said Kathleen Phillips, the library's newest staff member. Phillips began her position as children's librarian on Monday, July 16. She succeeds Kelly Deltoro-White who resigned for medical reasons.

Phillips returned to New York state after living in southern California for a number of years. She worked in real estate sales and marketing before deciding to complete her undergraduate degree in 2002. "I had 100 lower division credits and no bachelor's degree," she said. "So, I attended Empire State College here in New York and I received a bachelor of arts in American studies." A year later, she began pursuing a master of library science degree at the University of Buffalo. She graduated in September 2006.

While Phillips was in library school, she had only a vague idea of how she would use her skills. She wanted to work in a public library but was not sure in what capacity. "I had done a practicum over the summer in Brighton," she said. "And found that I really enjoyed working with children. I realized then that being a children's librarian was probably the job I was going to seek." In October 2006, the Rochester Central Library hired Phillips as a part-time librarian in the children's center.

Then a former professor emailed her about the opening at Seymour. Cassie Guthrie, the director of Seymour, had also been a student of his and he thought that Phillips and Guthrie would work well together. "I wanted a full-time position to expand," Phillips said, "especially being an older librarian but new in the field. So, I met Cassie and the two of us shared a vision for the Seymour Library. The two of us thought that we could make a difference."

Phillips sees many strengths at Seymour. "The people who work here have a profound love for libraries in general and for this library," she said. "The dedicated staff is the backbone of this library." She explained that the layout of the building makes it easy to move things around so that the space can be made user friendly. And she believes that it is in an ideal location: close to the village yet with ample (open) space around it.

Nevertheless, Phillips admits to some hurdles, such as finishing the summer reading program that was already in progress when she arrived. Organizing the collection has also been a challenge. "It was semi-disorganized because they were short staffed," she explained. "I have made some major changes in the way the collection is displayed. There were tons of books on the new book display all shelved with the spines facing out and none of them were being checked out. I changed them so the covers face out and now they're flying off the shelves."

Phillips and Guthrie share an enthusiasm for reaching out to the community. One of Phillips' goals is to plan a program for public school children to teach them what the library has to offer them. "I also want to increase the collection so that at least one copy of the books that the public wants is on our shelves," she said. "And I want to raise the numbers: raise the numbers of books going out and the number of people who use the library."

Phillips loves children and is ready to tackle the tasks of her new position. "I'm taking it one day at a time," she says. "The staff and the patrons have been so welcoming to me. I am really happy to be here."

Seymour Library is located at 161 East Avenue in Brockport. For more information on children's programs, please call the information desk at 637-1050.