True to our vision, the library is a “vital cornerstone of community connection.” We act as your office when you have important work to accomplish, your most productive study spot, your coziest reading nook, your home away from home, and your favorite location for catching up with friends. Library staff also enjoy catching up with our “regulars” and the friends we’ve made while working at one of the library’s four public service desks. We thrive on our community connections and want to build relationships with our visitors, ensuring that we know our town and that we are making everyone who walks through our doors feel welcome. But what about the library staff you don’t see every day?
Approximately 75 people work at the library at a given time. While many are public-facing – staffing service desks, hosting programs, conducting outreach visits, and ensuring the safety and well-being of everyone who visits – many others are busy behind the scenes and working hard to ensure that the library operates seamlessly to provide an excellent experience for all. The library’s access services department not only purchases and processes the library’s collections, but also conducts in-depth cataloging to ensure all of our items are easily discoverable. Aside from providing assistance at the Checkout Desk, our lending services department issues library card memberships and ensures the shelves are filled with books to browse on your next visit. And our administration department manages the library’s finances, personnel, marketing, fundraising, and strategic projects.
Aside from being the home to a vast collection of books, films, magazines and a variety of non-traditional items, the library building is a destination for those who live both near and far. The library’s facilities department maintains our 58,000-square-foot building to keep it in tip-top shape for our thousands of visitors per day. The facilities staff also sets up spaces for programs and meetings, and they even help to hang the artwork for the library’s exhibits. Similarly, our IT department also keeps the building functioning, in part by managing all of the library’s systems and technology, from public computers and the WiFi that stretches onto Hinds Plaza, to the self-check machines and AV equipment in our program spaces. IT staff ensure that our website and catalog operate smoothly, making it possible to access library resources and information anywhere you are in the world, 24/7/365.
Sure, there are many librarians and library associates that you may recognize from your frequent visits, from the Information Desk to community programs. But what you see day-to-day is only part of the story! Much like a book you may pull off one of our shelves, the cover may give you a hint. But there is an entire world beyond, once you delve inside.