The Centralia Timberland Library is a bright and cheerful place. The checkout and information desks face you as you walk in and are greeted with warm smiles from several staff members. The place oozes joy, history and happiness. I admit I am biased. A bookworm from way back, I feel at home amongst the stacks; I can disappear into a library. This one is special, though, it is so passionately run, so much thought and love goes into it, it feels like a home.
The building is a part of that, resting in George Washington Park in the center of Centralia. But I am convinced that the reason this library enjoys its ambience, welcomes you in, brings the joy is the multi-talented and dedicated manager, Susan Faubion. Without her at the helm, perhaps it would be a little colder, maybe there would be fewer smiles, maybe it wouldn’t enjoy the great character. It might be stuck in the past instead of boldly lunging for the future.
Susan studied English literature as an undergrad, soaking in as much Charles Dickens as she could, though she finds herself reading less and less these days, a common result of young children in your life. She also studied Spanish and lived in Buenos Aires for four years in her early 20s, which she remembers fondly. When asked why she chose Argentina she answers without hesitation, “Because I wanted that accent!” She hopes to instill some of the language (and charming accent) in her kids, but has yet to really work out a program as her kids are just one and four years old. Her Spanish skills stay honed because she gets the opportunity to use them in the library on a regular basis, one of her favorite parts of her job.
She got her master’s degree in library science and got a job here in Centralia in 2005, getting regularly promoted until she began running the show two years ago.
As manager, she enjoys all of the people aspects of the job most “Making sure the staff have what they need to do their job well,” she sees as critical in addition to “the patrons having everything they need, and responding to their concerns.” She is also the contact person for the city, who owns the building and the library, so she sees some of her time dominated by assuring the historic building’s elevator is functioning properly, in addition to the many other challenges of being responsible for an aging piece of history.
One of the big parts of her job is getting people connected with technology so they can use the library (for instance, online) wherever they are. “A lot of people get their library card and use the library elsewhere,” she says. As a result of this, she feels that library events and building community partnerships, using the library like a base, are the most important projects going into the future, where she sees herself managing for many years.
Susan lives for her library, nurturing it and growing its resources. It shows. She laughs when asked about her days off, and what she does in the community. “I don’t do anything! I have kids!” Spending time with her husband – who is also a librarian – and her daughters is her main priority. She often finds herself with them attending library events all over the area, even in her spare time. As she talks about her family outings, she realizes: “We actually do a lot of library events!” She even took a vacation day last year in order to attend one of the big events with her daughters. She lights up talking about the balloon guy and the games that she enjoyed after certainly having a role in assuring they were there.
She sees these events, the community involvement, and “bringing library services out into the community” as the future. Not ignoring the importance of Wi-Fi and a community meeting place, the events are where she finds herself most involved in her community, and it gives her a chance to share her passion for literacy and information with her children, coworkers, and community members who take advantage of the free services.
Like a business, a library requires a great manager to really flourish. It requires someone of vision, passion, and energy. The Centralia Timberland has that person in Susan.
Swing by and check out the library, of course, but if you would like to get the most out of the full range of library services, visit the website as well to look for upcoming events. You can even set up the event calendar to notify you of the type of events you may be interested in attending.
There is every chance you will run into Susan and her family while you are there, because, as she says, “We really do love the library!”
