Recognize Library Staff on National Library Workers Day

April is a month of special holidays, both religious and secular. Many Sedona Public Library patrons celebrate Easter or Passover, and children of all ages enjoy April Fool’s Day.
 
However, you may not know there is another special day in April dedicated to recognizing the hard work, dedication, and expertise of library workers. Appropriately, it is called National Library Workers Day, and this year it’s on April 10. I am excited about this day because the staff at Sedona Library are wonderful and deserve the recognition.
 
I highly encourage you to come down to the Library, in either Sedona or the Village, and thank your favorite library staff worker for all that they do. Another way to honor your favorite is to nominate a library “Star” through the National Library Workers Day website, http://ala-apa.org/nlwd/.
 
Anne Marie, the Library’s development director, once told me that she had never worked before with such humble people. But not today! In this column, I’m proclaiming to the world what a great job we do!
 
Our regular patrons are familiar with many of the front-line staff. Karen Mack, Meghan, and Marcia provide an amazing variety of programs for young people, from babies through teens. There are story times, including bilingual presentations, as well as science activities. The youth services staff works closely with local schools to supplement their educational offerings.
 
Dorothy is our library assistant at the circulation desk. She does a wonderful job of issuing cards and explaining library policies to new patrons. Andrea, Sophia, Mary, Kay, and Marcy staff the reference desk, answering all types of questions and helping patrons with computer problems. And Cheryl, who manages Sedona Library in the Village with help from Marie and a team of volunteers, provides an incredible array of services to residents of the Village.
 
Andrea Christelle is the newest member of our staff, and she can often be found sitting at the desk near the community room. That’s convenient, since her title is program and outreach manager. Contact Andrea for information on scheduling programs in the community room and other library spaces; she is also open to suggestions about possible events that the Library might co-sponsor.

Behind the scenes, there are also stellar library personnel diligently working for the organization. Pamela is our business manager, and she is a wealth of information about running a nonprofit and the procedures and policies here at the Library. You will also find her hosting the Monday night movie, which is one of our most popular programs.  
 
Marisol has the tremendous organizational skills needed for a volunteer coordinator managing over 150 volunteers at the Library and organizing two major appreciation events annually. She interviews, trains, and orients new volunteers and makes sure they are happy in their jobs.
 
Katherine and Karen also work behind the scenes, processing and cataloging new books, DVDs, and audiobooks for both the adult and youth collections. Each month, they add hundreds of new items for our patrons to check out. Elizabeth selects the new items for the collection. John and Brady maintain the facilities, and Zach maintains our computer system.
 
Whatever the tasks or challenges at Sedona Public Library, the staff works hard to meet your needs while providing excellent customer service. But we not only endeavor to fulfill your expectations, we do our best to go the extra mile. And that’s what makes us shine!
 
All of us at Sedona Public Library enjoy our work, and we value our interactions with our patrons. Please join with us, your local library workers, as we celebrate this very special day in our professional world. 

​Sedona Public Library
Column for April 6, 2018
Written by Sophia Zarifis-Russell, Reference Assistant