Library staff are hard to replace

   If you haven’t read in the Express or heard through the small-town rumor mill (though this is not a rumor), our esteemed library director, Michelle Turnis, is leaving her post.

   I have served on the Monticello Library Board for quite some time, roughly 11 years or so. In that time, I was part of the board that hired Michelle as the director, after she’d already been working for the library for eight years. She’s been with the Monticello library for 18 years.

   While the board oversees the library director, I have felt that our entire board (past and present members included) have viewed Michelle as more of a friend and confidant than our employee.

   I took over as board president shortly after getting on the board, when Deb Bowman stepped down. The role of president is to work with the library director to put the monthly meeting agendas together. I also stop into the library numerous times a week just to check on things, see how things are going, and to visit with the staff.

   Over the years, Michelle and I have become great friends, and that friendship is what I will miss the most!

   We shared insights into new books hitting the market. We shared ideas for library programming. We shared personal stories about life, work, our common views about society.

   My regular stops at the library weren’t necessarily to browse the shelves, but to see and visit with friends.

   Our city library will not be the same without Michelle, in my opinion. While change is good, it’ll just be different.

   Speaking of different, I feel society impacts one’s role in public service, and working in a public or school library lately certainly has not been easy. People question one’s motives when it comes to programming, public events/speakers, and even displaying books. The scrutiny librarians face today is quite different from just a few years ago.

   I am not sharing my observations on this as a reason for Michelle’s departure, but just as a warning. Take a look at the public library in Vinton, Iowa. They went through three different directors in a year! Some citizens turned on the library staff, doing quite a disservice to the entire community.

   It should also be noted that public libraries need to cater to a diverse and ever-changing community. Books should reflect the community, and books on multiple topics from multiple viewpoints should be made available to the public.

   If you find yourself in the library within the next couple of weeks, please wish Michelle Turnis the very best and thank her for her years of service and dedication to the Monticello library. It has not been an easy job, but she has been a great leader.

   All three of our staff members work hard to serve this community. Can you imagine a community without a public library?