Lambert Reflects On 21 Years At Milford Library
January 21, 2021 at 11:31 p.m.
Lambert Reflects On 21 Years At Milford Library
By Jackie Gorski-
Lambert, who was the children’s coordinator, said she retired Dec. 31 due to health reasons after working at the library for 21 years.
“I stayed home with my kids until my youngest went to kindergarten,” Lambert said. Looking for more to do, she found an ad in the newspaper for a position that was open at the library for about 12 hours a week.
“And I thought, ‘Hmm, I can do that while he’s school, they’re both (her children) in school now. I can do that.’ So I applied and got the job,” Lambert said.
When she started at the library, Lambert said, it didn’t have a children’s librarian.
“So I just worked downstairs in the children’s librarian. And we did finally did get a children’s librarian. Her name is Pam Long. She became my mentor because she had got her MLS and she had already been a children’s librarian, so she years experience that I didn’t have,” Lambert said.
Lambert said Long taught her everything she knows about the Dewey Decimal System, how to file books “and how to do all that kind of stuff you need to know for a library.”
When Long left, and “there was nobody again for the children’s department,” that’s when Lambert became the children’s coordinator.
During her time as the children’s coordinator, Lambert said she worked with the library’s summer reading program, StoryTime, events planning. The last three or four years, she has worked on the children’s catalog.
“They call me the jack of all trades at the library because I’ve set up our website, I’ve done Facebook, I’ve done ordering. Everything I’ve done has been in the children’s department. The only thing I haven’t done is be a director, and I don’t want to be one of those,” Lambert said.
She said she enjoyed seeing kids come in and find books.
Lambert said she has noticed a decline in reading, or at least kids coming into the library, in the past few years. She said kids do have eBooks. And due with the pandemic, that was the only way children were able to get books from the library for a time when the library was closed. Since the library has reopened, the number of children coming in hasn’t been as great as in years past.
She didn’t have an answer for the trend.
“I really don’t know, but I wish we could find that answer. That could be a good answer to find out, because then, we worry about libraries going away because people say, ‘What do we need libraries for? You know, we can find a book on the internet,’” Lambert said.
She said the illustrations are better in a physical book and people, especially children, can’t always get the feel of a book from an eBook.
One of the highlights of her time working at the library was the summer reading programs.
“We’ve had so much fun with our summer reading programs,” she said. She said it took her about six months to put together, but “it was well worth it.”
She said she also loved cataloging the books, because she got to be the first person to see the book and go through it.
“I really miss it. I’ve only been gone for three weeks, but I just felt it was the time for me to go and let someone else take over,” Lambert said.
She let Director Julie Frew know she was leaving in mid-November. She said they talked about it because at that point she was the staff member who had been at the library the longest. Lambert knew so much about the library and it took about six weeks to catch everyone up on what she knew.
Some of the changes Lambert said she’s seen is the reduction of staff members at the library. She said it’s “kind of hurt us,” noting the children may not always get what they need due to the fact staff members can only help so many patrons at one time.
Technology has been “crazy daisy.” When Lambert started, the library didn’t have any computers, but when she left, there were two computers that kids could use. Children have also used the library as a hotspot to get their school work done.
For herself, Lambert said she enjoys reading, so she will be able to read more books, both adult and children’s books. She also likes to do crafts and hopes to do more.
Milford Library may not be done with Lambert as she may volunteer there in the future.
Lambert, who was the children’s coordinator, said she retired Dec. 31 due to health reasons after working at the library for 21 years.
“I stayed home with my kids until my youngest went to kindergarten,” Lambert said. Looking for more to do, she found an ad in the newspaper for a position that was open at the library for about 12 hours a week.
“And I thought, ‘Hmm, I can do that while he’s school, they’re both (her children) in school now. I can do that.’ So I applied and got the job,” Lambert said.
When she started at the library, Lambert said, it didn’t have a children’s librarian.
“So I just worked downstairs in the children’s librarian. And we did finally did get a children’s librarian. Her name is Pam Long. She became my mentor because she had got her MLS and she had already been a children’s librarian, so she years experience that I didn’t have,” Lambert said.
Lambert said Long taught her everything she knows about the Dewey Decimal System, how to file books “and how to do all that kind of stuff you need to know for a library.”
When Long left, and “there was nobody again for the children’s department,” that’s when Lambert became the children’s coordinator.
During her time as the children’s coordinator, Lambert said she worked with the library’s summer reading program, StoryTime, events planning. The last three or four years, she has worked on the children’s catalog.
“They call me the jack of all trades at the library because I’ve set up our website, I’ve done Facebook, I’ve done ordering. Everything I’ve done has been in the children’s department. The only thing I haven’t done is be a director, and I don’t want to be one of those,” Lambert said.
She said she enjoyed seeing kids come in and find books.
Lambert said she has noticed a decline in reading, or at least kids coming into the library, in the past few years. She said kids do have eBooks. And due with the pandemic, that was the only way children were able to get books from the library for a time when the library was closed. Since the library has reopened, the number of children coming in hasn’t been as great as in years past.
She didn’t have an answer for the trend.
“I really don’t know, but I wish we could find that answer. That could be a good answer to find out, because then, we worry about libraries going away because people say, ‘What do we need libraries for? You know, we can find a book on the internet,’” Lambert said.
She said the illustrations are better in a physical book and people, especially children, can’t always get the feel of a book from an eBook.
One of the highlights of her time working at the library was the summer reading programs.
“We’ve had so much fun with our summer reading programs,” she said. She said it took her about six months to put together, but “it was well worth it.”
She said she also loved cataloging the books, because she got to be the first person to see the book and go through it.
“I really miss it. I’ve only been gone for three weeks, but I just felt it was the time for me to go and let someone else take over,” Lambert said.
She let Director Julie Frew know she was leaving in mid-November. She said they talked about it because at that point she was the staff member who had been at the library the longest. Lambert knew so much about the library and it took about six weeks to catch everyone up on what she knew.
Some of the changes Lambert said she’s seen is the reduction of staff members at the library. She said it’s “kind of hurt us,” noting the children may not always get what they need due to the fact staff members can only help so many patrons at one time.
Technology has been “crazy daisy.” When Lambert started, the library didn’t have any computers, but when she left, there were two computers that kids could use. Children have also used the library as a hotspot to get their school work done.
For herself, Lambert said she enjoys reading, so she will be able to read more books, both adult and children’s books. She also likes to do crafts and hopes to do more.
Milford Library may not be done with Lambert as she may volunteer there in the future.
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