Gabriel Chrisman
I’d like to thank you all for my time here as director of the Gibson Memorial Library. It has been a pleasure working with this excellent community. I enjoyed getting to know the people here and everything that makes Creston special. I wish I could stay and get to know all of you even better, but my roundtrip daily commute of over two hours from my home in Decatur County has been very challenging. With gas prices ever on the rise, when I was offered the directorship of the Graceland University libraries, I felt that the opportunity to cut my commute by more than half every day couldn’t be passed up.
I sincerely hope that you’ll all continue to use and appreciate the Creston library, and that occasionally when you’re enjoying the projects and programs I’ve helped push forwards you’ll smile and send a kind thought my way. While I’ve been here we’ve nearly doubled the number of library programs and increased our program attendance by two-thirds. We’ve added streaming video services to the library’s online resources and made the public access computers much more secure with a patron login system; we’ve also acquired federal funding for continued IT services and support. We’ve created a small group meeting room and a study room, redirected the library expansion efforts into the pavilion project and broken ground on this exciting new phase. We’ve weeded unused and outdated materials to make room for new additions to the collection and to open up space so that everything is easier to access, especially in the children’s room. We’ve also moved all adult materials out of the children’s area, putting them near other adult materials so that browsing is easier for everyone.
I’d like to extend special thanks to my wonderful staff, without whom all this couldn’t have happened; to the city of Creston, whose support was vital for the improvements we’ve made to the library’s plumbing and electrical systems, as well as for the pavilion; and to my supportive board, whose approval allowed us to eliminate library fines and make the collection more accessible for everyone.
Most of all, I’d like to thank the community of Creston and everyone reading this message. Libraries exist because people want them — and because they use them. Every time you check out a book, or use any of the library’s other wonderful services, you’re helping out your whole community by showing your support for something that helps everyone. Thriving libraries and thriving communities go hand in hand. The more you use yours, the more it will grow with the Creston community and its needs. It all happens one book at a time! Check yours out today — and tomorrow, and the next day…
Best wishes always!