Librarian to retire after 28 years

Talk about it

Everything you have been hearing is true. After almost 28 years as your librarian, I am retiring at the end of October.

I have been thinking about all the changes at the library during my tenure here. The two largest changes have been moving the library and automation.

We moved from the old Carnegie Library to our present location in the Douglas County Services Center in 1995. We had so much help from the public putting all the books on the shelves and getting everything organized

With the assistance of many wonderful volunteers, we became automated in 1998. No longer did we have the book charge-out machine that was always breaking down.

The advent of computers and the Internet has made a huge impact on the way we conduct business in so many ways. From checking items in and out to doing research, computers have made our lives easier. We are almost too dependent on them.

The amount of books we check out has gone from 50,000 per year to 358,000 per year. The collection has grown from 40,000 items to more than 90,000.

I have so appreciated all the commissioners, library board members, Friends of the Library and staff who helped me along the way, as well as the many community members and library users who have supported the library for years.

It has been such a joy to see the kids that I once had in story hour years ago now come into the library and introduce their own children to the joy of reading.

The Friends of the Library will serve coffee and cake at an open house on Thursday, October 29, from 2 to 5 p.m. in the meeting room at the library.

And what will I do in retirement? Sit down, pet the dog, put my feet up, pet the dog, look at the lake, pet the dog…maybe read a book.

Tags: trish conroy, life, library, retiring