Loretta Crenshaw, who has been director of the Eureka Springs Carnegie Public Library since 2011, is something of a celebrity in local circles. In addition to supervising the library, Loretta’s story hour Wednesday mornings at 10:30 a.m. is considered a highlight of the week.
“It is great to see all the children who come in,” Crenshaw said. “I’m greeted like a rock star when they see me outside of the library. It’s exciting and nice. The children love to be here and we get to see them grow up and form friendships, and see their parents form friendships and establish mommy groups. That is very rewarding.”
Crenshaw recently announced her retirement. While she loves the library work, she wanted more time to travel with her husband, Glenn. The couple have a motorhome and are ready to see more of the country.
“Loretta is adored by all, from the youngest patrons at story time to those less young as she delivers books to Peachtree,” library Board President Lucilla Garrett said. “One of Loretta’s greatest attributes is her willingness to graciously accommodate library patrons. It is clearly a priority, whether it is finding a book or answering a reference question. She has served locals and visitors with professionalism and kindness.”
During her tenure, the library has grown by leaps and bounds. The Media Center was opened, patron computers were acquired, additional staff was hired, innovative programs were scheduled, and library hours were expanded to include Sunday afternoons.
“She has been instrumental in making the changes go smoothly, welcoming each as they benefitted the community,” Garrett said. “Loretta is an exemplary librarian. While the board is sorry to see her step down, all are so pleased that she will still volunteer and continue to be one of the library’s greatest cheerleaders. Loretta has truly made a difference.”
Crenshaw, who has been with the library for 16 years, said her favorite part is working the desk and talking to people. It is also very fun to order books.
“We base a lot of purchases off requests,” she said. “If I think other patrons will also enjoy it, for sure it seems like a no brainer to go ahead and get it for our system.”
The Media Center Annex opened May 25, 2015, and has been a big hit, and the eight public computers in there are often busy. Patrons average about 1,000 hours per month on the computers.
“I believe it’s vital for the public to have free access to the Internet. As you know in our area, access to high-speed Internet is slim and spotty,” Crenshaw said. “People come in here and apply for jobs, they apply for benefits, and they type up résumés. Not everyone can afford Internet at home, even if it’s available. Because of our hilly terrain, Internet is not always available. It is beautiful here, but there are tradeoffs, for sure.”
When she took the job as library director, Crenshaw promised to get her master’s of library science. She did one class per semester, and completed the degree several years ago.
“I treated each class as a case study for my library,” Crenshaw said. “I went in-depth on different topics every semester.”
Another highlight of her tenure as director is the purchase of the former Sheard property next to the annex that housed an antique store for years. That building is currently under extensive renovation, and will be used to expand the library in the future.
“We have to pay for it first,” she said. “The space will be leased until we can afford to use it for the library.”
The library employees are a tight-knit group of talented women. One of Crenshaw’s trepidations when she decided to apply for the job was that because she was friends with the other workers, what it would be like going from being a co-worker to being a boss? That hasn’t proven to be a problem.
“I think we are a cohesive team, and everyone here really gets the mission of the library,” she said. “It is about the community and the people who use the library. I think everyone works together for that aim and backs each other up. I really try to have different staff members do things according to their skills or abilities. It allows for a lot of creativity and independence on their part. We try to look at new ideas with the thought, ‘How can we do this?’ That is how we have been able to offer different services we didn’t have before.”
Crenshaw said it is important early on for children to discover the joy of reading. It is common for children to be read to by their parent when they’re young, but by the time they’re in middle school, there are competing interests.
“We may lose them then if they are not big readers at that age,” Crenshaw said. “So, we like to have activities for teens that keep them involved and coming here, and having a cohort group. They find their place with other kids with similar interests. It gives them a place to belong and it keeps them in touch with the library. A lot of it is about them having good feelings and memories at the library so as they do return to reading, maybe as young adults, they will think of using the library first.”
For younger kids, the Lego group is very popular. There are also special activities like mömandpöp kid’s comedy band.
One of the harder decisions is what to cull to make room for new books. Some books have been at the library for decades. Crenshaw looks at older books and considers if they are going to be important again someday.
“I think a lot about technology failing or becoming less accessible,” she said. “Are the skills contained in these books going to be helpful and necessary at some point? The main things we try to weed out are books that are sort of trendy, for example, medical information that may have changed. I have a soft spot in my heart for how to books, how to blacksmith, milk a cow, or make a printing press. I try to keep those.”
The library is important for social interaction and as a community-building place.
“People have an impression that libraries are just books and grumpy librarians,” she said. “It’s really more than that! We have a good staff, just people who really care.”
In her retirement, Crenshaw plans to help her husband in his real estate business, and work to resurrect the Friends of the Carnegie Public Library group.