Thursday, June 28, 2007

Unsung heroes helped lay foundation for a new library



Longtime Library Board members Ed Schiller and Laurene Stanford were honored Thursday night at Nampa’s premier downtown block party. They helped envision the new library and worked hard toward its creation. On behalf of the existing Library Board of Trustees, Mayor Tom Dale presented engraved bookends that express appreciation for their service.
“Their contributions have helped make the Nampa Public Library a vibrant cultural hub of the city,” Dale said before the event.
The Downtown Nampa Nights features live music, hot food and beverages every Thursday night, a festive venue for briefly recognizing community accomplishments.
Schiller, who served on the Library Board from 1988 to 2006, is secretary for the Downtown Nampa Association and can be seen serving up beer or hot dogs at the back of the crowd and in front of his law office. The presentation was a surprise.
Schiller served 18 years on the board that oversaw dramatic improvements at the Library including establishing the online catalogue, public computers, courier service to other libraries, the strategic plan, committee for a new library and the electronic system for self-checkout.
Stanford served on the board from 1997 to 2007 and was a leader in the early stages of preparing for a new building. She was instrumental in improving communication between the library and local schools, developing evaluations for the library director and strategic planning. She is still an active volunteer.
The Library Board decided recently to honor both former members for their outstanding contributions.
Library Director Karen Ganske said both “served with great distinction, offering countless hours to the library and never failing to support its mission.”
“Ed served a partial term plus three five-year terms,” said Ganske, which is “unprecedented in modern times.”

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Just wanted to add my congratulations to these two dedicated board members. I worked at Nampa Public Library from 1993-2002 and appreciated the support of the library board for youth services during that time. As the Youth Services Coordinator I sought their support for a partnership with Nampa School District's Teen Parent Program, the collection development policy for the new Teen DVD collection, increased budget for staff and programming, and of course above and beyond support during controversies involving book selection and computer filtering. I credit my years at Nampa Public Library with preparing me to go forward and meet the challenges necessary to grow in my career. Thanks Ed and Laurene for supporting the library to make it not only a great place to go, but also a great place to work.