Brigadier of Books - Rogers recognized as library pillar

Brigadier of Books – Rogers recognized as library pillar

By Craig Howard Splash Contributing Editor

Georgette Rogers was in fifth grade when her family moved from Creston, Washington to Reardan, a neighboring town in Lincoln County. While the transition brought many of the familiar rural surroundings, one building stood out in contrast.

“We were driving down main street in Reardan and I saw the library,” Rogers recalls. “I turned to my mom and said, ‘Mom, there’s the library!”

The storehouse of books was a short walk from the family’s new home. Creston had featured a library at the local school but not one of the municipal variety.

“My parents always read to me,” Rogers says. “Books have been very important to our family.”

Rogers has passed down her love of literature as a cornerstone of the Liberty Lake Municipal Library. She began as a library technician in April 2004 and became the longest tenured employee when Pamela Mogen, the library’s inaugural director, retired last year.

When Rogers was hired, the library was housed in a cozy space at the Greenstone building on Meadowwood Lane, next door to the original City Hall and the first home of the Liberty Lake Police Department.

Georgette Rogers is the longest tenured employee at the Liberty Lake Municipal Library. Her first day as a library technician was April 12, 2004 in the library's original space at the Greenstone building on Meadowwood Lane.

Photo by Craig Howard

The resident-led movement to open a library unique to Liberty Lake began in 2001, the same year of city incorporation. The Community Library Council (CLC), a grassroots effort of dedicated citizens, conducted a mammoth book drive and provided a volunteer brigade that made the library a reality the following year.

While there was some discussion of the community library becoming part of the Spokane County Library District (SCLD), the decision was eventually made to remain independent. Property tax revenue would fund the library and it was established under the city umbrella.

Rogers brought a unique background to her role in the library’s third year of existence. She had spent four years working for SCLD as a clerk at various branches, including Deer Park, Argonne and North Spokane. Hoping to work in a school library, Rogers applied at District 81 and was hired at Garry Middle School as a library assistant. When that position was eliminated across the district, Rogers did some substitute teaching but kept looking for another job in her field.

It was around that time that a new library in Spokane County’s easternmost jurisdiction put out a call for a library technician. She drove a purple Ford pickup truck to the interview in Liberty Lake with City Clerk Arlene Fisher and City Administrator Lewis Griffin. When she arrived home, there was a voice message from Fisher waiting with a job offer.

“I felt welcomed,” Rogers recalls. “I felt like I was home.”

Rogers and Mogen formed a dynamic duo that put a stamp on the library in its early days. The effort included bar-coding every book, selecting a software system, making patrons feel welcome and collaborating with an extraordinary crew of dedicated volunteers.

Appropriately, Rogers was working in a bookstore when a visit from one of her former teachers at Spokane Falls Community College changed the course of her professional trek. The instructor told her about the library technician program at SFCC, a degree Rogers was not aware of when she was a student there. When winter quarter rolled around, Rogers was signed up and on her way to a diploma and a successful career in the library field.

In Liberty Lake, Rogers has worn many hats. She is a fixture at the front desk, overseeing circulation while also responsible for ordering supplies and helping with programming and story times. One of her specialties is the art of mending damaged books.

Rogers observed her 15th year as a Liberty Lake employee this spring.

In August, Rogers celebrated her 25th wedding anniversary. She and her husband James met when Rogers was in her first year at SFCC and were married in June of 1994. When not working, Rogers volunteers at her church and enjoys spending time with family and friends as well as her two dogs. Reading remains a priority.

Q: When you first started with the Liberty Lake Municipal Library in April of 2004, what was your hope for what the library could become?

A: When I started, we were still very small and my hopes were to help (Library Director) Pamela (Mogen) make it the best library in the area and to that it would become the place that people would want to gather and come to and be proud of. I always said, “We are small but mighty” and I always thought we could be that “mighty” library.

Q: What are some of your memories of the inaugural library space in the Greenstone building?

A: I remember that Pamela and I seemed to always be finding a way to make everything fit. The space worked for us but we had to get creative a few times and put books on the tops of some of the shorter shelves and our desks were literally back to back. We had to make sure the other one wasn’t getting out of her chair so we didn’t knock each other down!

Q: The roots of the Friends of the Library go back to the Community Library Council, a unique effort led by residents to create a local library. Over the years, how much has this group meant to the success of what goes on here?

A: The Friends have been truly instrumental in helping the library. They provide funding for the summer reading program, the presenters for several programs, supplies for adult, teen and children’s programs, plus support in fundraising. In the past they held a tea and they have recently started a Summer Soiree that raises money for the library programs. They have also provided some shelving or special items for the library such as the 3D printer. Sometimes we need to purchase something that was not budgeted in and the Friends step up to help. They are always here for our special events as extra hands. The Halloween party and “Saturday with Santa” would not be as successful without them. They help with the crafts, the games or whatever we ask of them. We really couldn’t do it without them. They are greatly appreciated.

Q: You grew up in two small towns in Lincoln County before moving to Spokane after high school. Looking back what were some of the values you learned growing up in those rural communities?

A: I think growing up in small towns showed me the value of friendship and trust and the caring of others. We go anywhere in town, knowing that others were looking after us, we could go to friends’ houses without worry and walk to school by ourselves. We all looked out for each other and provided assistance and help wherever needed.

Q: We hear quite a bit about today's short-attention spans. While there have been strides made on the digital side making books more accessible to tech-oriented readers, is reading at risk of losing ground to interests that don't take as much time or mental effort?

A: I don’t really think so. Reading is so important and with parents reading to children and teachers also reading. I still see children come in the library looking for a book or series they heard about from their teacher or that they read in class. I don’t think it will be a lost art. You need to be able to read to make your way in this world and even to read the directions for a lot of games and things, so I think books are going to be around for a long time.

Q: The library will be presenting its first-ever needs assessment to City Council next month. As the longesttenured employee of the library, what do you hope will emerge as a result of this project?

A: I hope that everyone sees how important and needed the library is in the community and that not only are we the heart of the community and that the community is the heart of us!

Q: The library eliminated overdue fines earlier this year. What kind of feedback have you received since this change?

A: I have heard different things! Most everyone is appreciative of the fact that we no longer charge fines but I actually have some who are concerned that that is revenue coming in for us, though it is not! Overall it has been a very positive experience.

Q: The library went through a major change at the top last year as Pamela Mogen retired as director and Jocelyn Redel was hired. What did Pamela mean to this library and what has Jocelyn brought to this leadership role?

A: Pamela was the first director of the library and really got things rolling. She started by having staff and volunteers barcoding all the items and she was the one who took a terrific library with a homemade checkout system and chose and online software system to be able to check items in and out and joined the consortium with CIN and the reciprocity with the Spokane County Library District which gives our patrons such a large amount of access to materials, a new way of shelving and cataloging the juvenile nonfiction section, to mention just a few things and made it into what it is today, so she was very important to this library. She really did a great job of getting the library to an incredible place before her retirement. Jocelyn has been a great replacement. She has been instrumental in eliminating the fines, getting the needs assessment going. She has looked at the way we have done things and come up with new ways of doing them to make things flow a little easier or make the space more useful. She has brought a nice vitality to the library and sees things with a fresh pair of eyes. She has a great relationship with the entire staff and we are all agreed she was the perfect choice to take over where Pamela left off and lead the library for the next several years.

Q: Where do you think the library is right now in terms of adequate space for programming, patrons, parking, etc.?

A: Having been here since the beginning, I have seen the library grow from a small storefront to a second space in the same storefront, to the current location and it has been an incredible thing to see the library grow as the community grows. I do feel that with that growth, we do need more space for parking definitely. The programs of the library, adults, teens and children’s are so popular that the parking lot is always full and a lot of times people have to part elsewhere. The Halloween events and “Saturday with Santa” bring a lot of people at one time as well and people park in the neighboring parking lot, so we really need that space. I think we do need more space for programming as well and for meeting space. We have one room for meetings and we use it for programming as well, so it does get a bit tricky. We always make it work and I love our building but I do feel at times we really do need more space.

Q: Finally, I know you're a big "Winnie the Pooh" fan. What character in this series do you relate to the most?

A: That is a really tough question but I think I see myself as maybe Winnie the Pooh himself. I always try to see the positive in things as Pooh does. He thinks of others first and I try to be like that as well. His friendship with the group from the Hundred Acre Wood is one that is more family than friends and that is how I view my friends as well. We are one big family. One of my dearest friends would say I relate to Pooh most because I am not tall of stature!