Rebecca M. Arthurs Memorial Library

From Behind the Library Desk - Meet The Staff…

These past few weeks we have talked about how the Rebecca M. Arthurs Memorial Library came into being and where it would like to go, but our library is more than just a building and books, it is people.

Today we’re going to go behind the Circulation Desk and meet the staff. If you have visited the library on a regular basis, I’m sure you’ve come to recognize many of the faces. It’s time to put names to those faces and find out something about their library connection and their responsibilities.

Our director is Rosalee Pituch and it is a rare occasion when she is not tending to stacks of newly arrived books, dealing with phone calls, working on finding new ways to increase funding, or helping patrons find books when they can’t look for themselves. During her time here, Rose has seen many changes, not all of them due to remodeling. She works tirelessly to bring our community the best library possible and does it with wisdom and good humor.

Assisting Rosalee is Janet Lawrence who sees to it that finances and bills are handled properly. Janet also has the responsibility of finding overdue and/or lost books, not always an easy task. We also like to think of her as our in house computer guru and I can testify that should you find yourself boggled by Google, she’ll come running at the drop of a "mouse"!

If you’ve ever come to the library and discovered the book you wanted wasn’t in our stacks, then you have probably had the opportunity to talk to Pat Conway who handles our Inter Library Loans. If it is available “out there” in another library, Pat will find it for you. And if you want someone knowledgeable about birds, look no further. She’s our resident ornithologist and ready to share her interesting and unusual bird anecdotes.

RMAL is known for its children’s events and activities and it is Beth Grant who spends hours planning each one. Beth brings a spark of creativity and fun to everything she does with all the kids, from tots to teens. To the little ones she is Miss Beth and to the rest of us she is a source of constant inspiration as she finds new ways to bring books and children together.

I like to call Judy McKillip our walking Dewey Decimal System because it’s a rare occasion when you ask for information that she can’t lead you right to it! Judy is able to call most of the patrons who walk through the door by their first name, giving them her ready smile as she asks how she can be of help. She is also our book restorer/repairer and can be seen working diligently at giving old worn out books new life.

RMAL participates in the Experience Works Program which provides training programs for senior adults. There are currently two of us who fall into that category, myself and Ruth Miller. Ruth has been keeping the library ship shape since joining the staff and sees to it that returned items go back to their proper locations. When a customer or staff member is looking for an item, Ruth is exceptionally proficient at finding even the most elusive book, leaving the rest of us standing in awe of her capability.

And me, I’m Judy Schwab, the newest member of the team. My responsibilities at the moment include checking books in or out, researching information for customers, helping beginner’s work through the Internet maze, and doing whatever else is needed. I’m somewhat a jack-of-all-trades as I learn the in’s and out’s of library functions. In my spare time, I write this little column.

Now that you’ve met some of the staff, we hope you’ll stop by soon. If you can’t visit in person, check out our newly updated website at www.rmalib.com where you’ll find not only library information, but community information as well.

In person or via our website, we’ll be waiting to serve you.

Monthly articles are written by Judy Schwab, library aide. These articles have appeared in the newspapers "Jeffersonian Democrat", Brookville, PA and "Jefferson County Neighbors". The articles highlight people and events related to the library. Rebecca M Arthurs Memorial Library © 2006.

The library is located at 223 Valley Street in Brookville, PA 15825. You may contact us at 814-849-5512 or click here to email us.