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Chelsea Self/Write-up Impartial
Garfield County Community Libraries are slowly staffing back again up subsequent the departure of various department administrators before this 12 months, including new managers at the Glenwood Springs and Carbondale libraries.
Joining the Garfield County General public Library District as Glenwood Springs department supervisor is Daniel Messer, a former faculty and correctional centre librarian from the Chicago space.
The new Carbondale department supervisor is Tracy Kallassy, who hails from upstate New York and most lately managed the Arlington General public Library in Arlington, Va. exterior Washington, D.C.
Subsequent the resignation of previous Library District Govt Director Brett Lear in August, the district board named District Finance Manager Kevin Hettler as interim director, reported James Larson, communications and advertising director for the district.
A look for for a new executive director is predicted to start quickly, he stated.
In the meantime, the district is doing work to fill 3 other department supervisor positions in New Castle, Silt and Rifle, Larson explained.
Satisfy Daniel Messer
Chelsea Self/Article Unbiased
Messer grew up in Ingleside, Illinois, north of Chicago, and said he fondly remembers investing time in the children’s place of his hometown library, usually seeking at dinosaur books.
“And acquiring VHS tapes of Bill Nye the Science male,” he said.
Soon after graduating with a master’s diploma in library management from Dominican College in 2016, Messer worked as a reference librarian at McHenry County Faculty. That was followed by a stint as lead librarian at a medium stability correctional facility in Pennsylvania.
“That was aspect of what formed me to going into general public libraries function,” Messer said of the jail gig, which was a hybrid of lawful reference elements and a basic library selection.
“A lot of it was just supporting inmates uncover the ideal guides for whatever they wanted,” he stated.
Soon after that work finished, he observed the opening for the Glenwood branch supervisor posture. With some his family by now on the Entrance Variety of Colorado, Messer said he made a decision to put in for the position.
“When I arrived out here and received to tour the libraries, I sort of just fell in love with the neighborhood,” Messer mentioned.
Messer mentioned he delivers a collaborative technique to the occupation and is nervous to enable steer the Glenwood branch again as it reinstates hrs and renews courses that experienced been slash in new years.
Libraries throughout the district have not long ago been introducing back again early morning hours, and are gearing up to increase evening hours after the initial of the year, Larson reported.
“I like the liberty that each and every of the branches have,” Messer also reported of just one of the matters that attracted him to the Garfield County Libraries. “I also like that there is a ton of camaraderie with the team and the other department administrators.”
Messer reported he enjoys reading through science fiction and fantasy, but “I’ll browse almost just about anything,” he said.
Lately, Messer commenced a month to month chess club at the Glenwood Library, which fulfills on the third Thursday.
Fulfill Tracy Kallassy
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Kallassy graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with an undergraduate degree in English and a master’s in library science in 2012.
Soon after heading up the Arlington Library, she reported she has loved the modify of pace at the Carbondale branch.
“I understood I required to come to Colorado, and when I noticed the occupation experienced opened up right here, it felt like the ideal fit,” Kallassy said.
“There are a great deal of excellent things going on below in phrases of the library system with the enhanced positions and additional funding,” she stated of the not too long ago authorized focused house tax for the Garfield County Libraries.
“It just appears to be like a really remarkable time to be listed here,” Kallassy reported, incorporating that a new youth services coordinator has also lately joined the department.
“I truly feel like there’s a good deal of pleasure in the group for what we’re executing, and each and every time we introduce some thing new persons are just thrilled,” she explained. “Libraries are this sort of an critical component of the community, and recognizing that and obtaining enjoyment in our work opportunities is actually vital.”
Kallassy explained she enjoys hiking and rock climbing, and looks forward to mastering how to ski.
She claimed her looking at interests are broad, but of late she’s “been on a mystery kick.”
Senior Reporter/Managing Editor John Stroud can be arrived at at 970-384-9160 or [email protected].