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ALTON - The Hayner Public Library District celebrated Labor Day by recognizing all of the people who work at the library.
Mary Cordes, executive director at Hayner, gave every department a special mention during a recent segment of “Our Daily Show!” with CJ Nasello. She thanked the staff members for their dedication to the library and their continued work to help the community.
“I’m a little biased, I think we have the best staff,” Cordes said. “I thought we’d give some credit where credit’s due. I hope that everybody comes in and enjoys the people who work there, because we really enjoy our patrons.”
Cordes noted that the Genealogy and Local History Library has “such a great staff,” including RiverBender.com contributor Lacy McDonald. Cordes remembers when she and McDonald found hundreds of negatives in a filing cabinet at the old Alton Telegraph building. They stood in front of the filing cabinet as movers cleaned out the building, then took the negatives back to the library so they could digitize the photographs.
This passion to preserve history is what drives the Genealogy and Local History Library. Cordes added that most of the staff members are from the Riverbend, and they know a lot about the history and the people in the area.
“They’re incredible and they’re of the community,” she said. “The whole goal is making sure that we retain our history and have our history. And that’s what the staff is dedicated to doing.”
Cordes also thanked Hayner’s in-house IT department, who protects the data stored by the library. She pointed out that many patrons come to the library specifically to use the internet, and the IT department makes sure this is possible. Cordes gave a special shout to Faith Robinson, who manages the library’s website and social media accounts.
The maintenance team is another part of Hayner’s staff who does a lot behind the scenes. With three buildings, a pocket park and a garden to manage, Cordes is proud of the maintenance department. She noted that Hayner is currently hiring for a part-time maintenance position, and she encouraged anyone who is interested to stop by the library for a job application or apply online.
The cataloging processing team is “so integral and important,” Cordes said. She thanked Development Manager Catherine Schrimpf for her work and explained that this department orders and processes the materials that are on Hayner’s shelves.
The homebound department works with community members who are temporarily or permanently homebound to deliver materials to them. Grant writer Patty Morrissey helps the library fund some of their programs and services. The interlibrary loan department helps manage the “massive” interlibrary loan program, which brings in 75,000 books to Hayner library users every year.
The circulation department works directly with the public. Cordes said it’s important that the library remains a welcoming place for people to come and ask questions, and the circulation department is a big part of cultivating this atmosphere.
“My whole philosophy is that we just want everybody to feel welcome in the library,” she said. “You want to be able to answer the same question that you answer 50 times a day with as much enthusiasm and energy from the first person all the way to the last person. Everybody who walks in, if we can’t help you, we can get you to the person who can.”
The reference department and the administrative team help people in different ways. The reference department will provide one-on-one assistance for “everything from old-school reference questions to helping people with technology and everything in between,” Cordes said. The administrative team works behind the scenes to keep the library running.
The library’s final department, KidsSpace and TeensSpace, does a lot of work to help the younger people in the community. Their free programs and services provide a safe space for kids and teens to hang out and enjoy using the library. Cordes also recognized the Board of Directors.
Cordes thanked all of the staff members at Hayner. She encouraged people to call Hayner at 618-462-0677 or visit their official website at HaynerLibrary.org for more information.
“I pay taxes, too, so I want an efficient use of my tax dollars, and to me, the whole goal of an entity is to bring you maximum amount of benefit with minimal amount of waste,” Cordes added. “We want to make sure you get your maximum amount of value out of the library. We are very, very conscientious of the fact that we are spending your tax dollars, so we spend them wisely and we try to be as efficient with them as possible, and that’s really important.”
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