Thanks to the mentoring and encouragement Rachel Rafuse received when she was a child from her local library, she has been committed to her career as a librarian.
She has worked as a branch manager at Mid-Continent Public Library system since 2007.
Her four decades of library work experience has not only benefitted her, but also has been an asset for the local community members when visiting the library in Platte City.
“My interest in working as a librarian is largely due to the people who worked in the library located in the neighborhood I grew up in, the Glencarlyn branch of the Arlington, Va. County Public Library,” Rafuse said. “They encouraged me to both pursue reading and work in libraries.””
While attending college at George Mason University in Virginia she worked part-time at libraries in Arlington. After graduating, Rafuse worked for a variety of government libraries in the Washington D.C. area, including NASA, Pentagon, and United States Census Bureau libraries and archives, while she completed a Master’s Degree in Library Science at The Catholic University of America.
In 1997, she moved to the Kansas City area to work at the Johnson County Public Library.
“With the exception of the two years I worked for an environmental management firm in New York, I have been here ever since,” Rafuse said.
After graduating from college, she spent two years teaching elementary school. “I enjoyed the experience, but my heart was always in libraries,” Rafuse said. “I also come from a family with a history of public service and working in a library is a way that I can continue this tradition in a way that is well-suited to my particular talents and interests. I love the people who come into the library and I love being a resource to the community.”
Her years of service at the library have given her the pleasure of seeing people who participated in programs as children, who are now bringing their own kids into the library to take part in programs and find books.
“Helping people find information they need, helping them develop new interests, and/or helping them further pursue interests they already have is an immensely rewarding experience,” Rafuse said. “It is also fun issuing, especially if it is the patron’s first, what First Lady Laura Bush once declared ‘the most valuable thing in my wallet . . . my library card.’”
One of the most rewarding parts of being a librarian for Rafuse is when she helps a patron find a book they really want to read. “It is especially rewarding when a patron comes in and doesn’t know exactly what they’re looking for, but thanks to our work, they leave with something great and interesting to read or watch.”
When local school children begin their summer break in a few months, the Summer Library Program will start, and the local library will experiencea significant increase in traffic. As the library fills up, Rafuse said the most frequently asked question coming from children and parents shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise - “can you help me find a good book to read?”
Rafuse has been asked some fascinating questions during her time as a librarian, including, “What undersea vegetables are grown in New Jersey?” “I want to raise bass here, how do I do it?” “I am looking for a red book. Do you know it?” and “Can we bring our dog in?” Rafuse’s answer to that question is, “No, but we are always happy to give them a treat at the drive-thru window.”
She said people visit libraries for many reasons, including, to find the next book in a series, a good movie to watch, to work on, or print a resume, to print a mailing label, and sometimes, just to chat.
“One day I was talking to a customer at the circulation desk and out of the corner of my eye I could see the carpet moving,” Rafuse said. “It was very distracting. The customer and I finally looked at the carpet and realized it was a toad.”
As far as her favorite books and authors, she said she has a certain degree of partiality toward her husband and the books he has written on the Civil War. “His fellow instructors in the history department at the Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kan. are pretty good too,” she said. “For recreational reading, though, I tend to prefer novels by authors like Janet Evanovich and Karin Slaughter. I really like the Statistical Abstract of America published by the Census Bureau. Still, I am pretty sure the book I use the most, though, is the Fannie Farmer Cookbook (1953 edition).”
Books that are checked out the most at the library include any book written by James Patterson. Every summer kids want to read Harry Potter and books from “The Diary of a Wimpy Kid” series. And younger kids are drawn to books by author, Mo Willems.
The attempts to ban certain books in some states worries Rafuse. She wants everyone to have the opportunity to read what interests them and make their own decisions.
“One job of a library is to ‘open windows to the world”’ as author Sidney Sheldon once put it, by helping customers find a book they want to read, a movie they want to watch, or music they want to listen to,” Rafuse said. “As the head librarian and manager of two libraries, I want people to have access to as wide open a window as we can provide by having access to a huge variety of materials. I especially want readers to have access to books like “To Kill a Mockingbird” and “Huckleberry Finn” that are widely recognized as classic, and quintessentially American works of literature. What someone reads, watches, or listens to is a choice they should make on their own.”
Some of the biggest challenges to libraires right now are keeping their services and collections comprehensive so they have something for, and representative of their entire community.
At Mid-Continent Public Library, a Collection Development Department makes decisions regarding what items they purchase and the format they purchase them in. “They stay abreast of publishing trends, paying particular attention to books that are on the best-seller lists, as well as those that win literary awards,” Rafuse said. “They also look at customer requests and past interest in similar materials. These factors are taken into consideration as well as other collection criteria (cost, publishing method, etc.)”
She is especially excited about the READLocal collection at Mid-Continent Public Library. It is now easier than ever before for people in the library district to make copies of books they have written to make available for friends, family, and neighbors. The link to information about the library’s READLocal collection is ReadLOCAL | Mid-Continent Public Library
For people who want to learn more about their genealogy, the library recommends Ancestry Library Edition. Customers can start their research at the Platte City branch (or any Mid-Continent Public Library branch) using the Ancestry Library Edition database. Then they can visit the Midwest Genealogy Center, a branch of Mid-Continent Public Library located in Independence, Mo., and work with the experts.
Librarians and library staff help members of the community find what they’re looking for quickly and efficiently and serve as guides to the wide variety of information available such as books, movies, music, events and online resources.
“The kids who participate in our Summer Library Program or our various story-time programs and their families will be attending the schools here together, so we facilitate the process of building bonds within the community that will carry them on for a decade or more — and we do this every year,” Rafuse said. “There is a saying that good libraries build collections, while great libraries build communities.”
Since children tend to follow the lead of adults and peers, one of the best ways to promote reading according to Rafuse, is when those in a household, or one’s social circle read, they will share, and talk about what they are reading. “Our Summer Library Program, however, is probably the best thing we have going for encouraging young readers and helping them develop a love for reading. And adults can participate in the program too, so this helps model those good reading behaviors.”
When asked about the most important skills that a good librarian cultivates, Rafuse believes that being available to customers and the ability to listen closely to them are vital.
“It is also very helpful to have a relatively broad range of interests so that you can help a wide range of customers. If we don’t have the information, you are looking for, we usually know who does and can put you in contact with them whether that’s a community organization or a book that’s available from another library through our InterLibrary Loan service. As children’s author Sarah McIntyre once said, ‘A trained librarian is a powerful search engine with a heart.’”
Challenges for libraries are similar to what customers face in their homes. Power, water, books, movies, music, and internet access continue to grow more and more expensive. And budgets continue to get tighter, but Rafuse believes that libraries are part of the backbone of the community and that they are an essential element for community members. “I want my libraries to be a safe place where everyone sees themselves. That is how we build community and bring people together.”