As many of our neighbors have already learned, Des Peres Branch has a new head librarian. She is Gail McCarthy and is new to the St. Louis Public Library system though she is a native St. Louisan and has more years of library and teaching experience than her young appearance would seem to indicate. She was raised in University City and received a Bachelor’s Degree from UMSL in Elementary Education and English. She has a Masters of Library Science from the University of Illinois. She has taught in the Berkeley, Kirkwood, and St. Louis Public Schools. Her library experience includes time spent at Scottsdale (Arizona) Community ‘ College on a Pima Indian Reservation, as reference librarian at UMSL, and as a librarian for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Her varied background will make her a great asset to our neighborhood library. She sees her job as simply “to serve all levels of the community.” She states that the library will provide any services that the residents request. She welcomes suggestions and certainly made a positive impression on this reporter when she said “This is the neatest community I’ve ever been in in my life.” With an attitude like that, Gail is sure to make many friends in Skinker-DeBaliviere.
One of her first projects has been the rearrangement of the library. There is to be a juvenile side and an adult side. The juvenile area will be closer to the desk so that the librarians can aid the young people with book selections, reference work, or homework. Gail stated that the juvenile circulation at Des Peres is high but adult circulation could be improved. We hope to qualify for more money in the library budget if we can increase the number of adults who use the library.
Gail hopes the library will continue to be utilized for community meetings; she anticipates the pre-school story hour will begin some time in November along with a children’s craft program to be run by Jean Walker. Adult and young adult programs are being planned. If any of our neighborhood residents have any ideas, suggestions, or requests, please contact Des Peres Branch at 726-2653.
Many of us were disappointed when we lost Jean Roberts to the Baden Branch but the assignment of energetic, enthusiastic, intelligent Gail McCarthy to our branch insures us that the library will continue to be an important element in our community.
Originally published in The Paper, November 1977.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times1977_11.pdf, printed page(s) 5; PDF page(s) 5.
