Wishing our Substitute Library Assistants a Very Happy National Library Week!

In honor of this week being National Library Week, each day the Langdon Library will spotlight different groups that contribute to our library’s success. Today: our Substitute Library Assistants! In addition to our “core four” library employees, we employ seven additional subs who fill in during staff absences. We started with two and over the years our library hours increased, subs came and went, and we gradually increased to seven. This year is the ten year anniversary of our very first library sub, Paula Knox! Our sub roster includes Newington residents Paula, Jay Riley, Dody Hogan, and Cait Versailles; former library employee Deb Kohlhase; and honorary Newington community members Tonya Brown and Jane Kendall. They are trained to check items in and out, shelve returns, search the library catalog, and set up new patrons, but their most important function is to staff the library. For safety and liability reasons, we require a minimum of two people working during open hours. If it weren’t for our subs, we could not sustain being open 41 hours/week, six days and three nights a week. We would have to close during sickness or staff vacations, pay overtime, significantly increase our budget, or cut hours.  We are very fortunate to have a helpful, eager team available to support the library, often on very short notice! Wishing our library subs a Happy National Library Week, with thanks for all you do, and very special thanks to Paula!