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West Liberty Public Library Director celebrates 5th anniversary

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This month, the West Liberty Public Library is celebrating its director, Allie Paarsmith, who has served as library director for five years. Though there have been new programs and changes within the library itself throughout the years, Paarsmith’s dedication towards its patrons hasn’t changed one bit.

“It’s been a heck of a ride, but I’m happy with the progress we’ve made, and I love the fact that we still have new ideas coming in and things are still moving in a progressive direction,” Paarsmith said.

Paarsmith’s love of libraries came from her youth, when she often spent time with her best friend’s mother, who worked as a library director in Marshalltown. In high school, Paarsmith was hired at the library, allowing her to further explore her interests in the field.

“When I was finally looking to find a career and settle down, I looked back towards the jobs I really enjoyed for the work, and the library was number one,” she said. “So, I decided to pursue my degree, which I received in 2017.”

Since then, Paarsmith has worked in libraries for over 10 years, with West Liberty being the only place where she’s ever served as a director.

Looking back on the moments that have stuck out to her over the past five years, Paarsmith said she was proud of her team’s success with finding additional funds through its grant writing efforts and with developing its collection, keeping a balance between providing materials that patrons want and exposing them to new materials they might not have considered before.

“I also have really enjoyed the staff that we’ve had,” Paarsmith said. “We make a really good team.”

Prior to Paarsmith becoming its director, the West Liberty Public Library only had one Spanish-speaking staff member. Over the years, however, Paarsmith has been able to raise this number to six, which she says she is extremely proud of, believing that having a majority-bilingual staff is able to better serve the West Liberty community.

“That was a goal from the beginning, and I’m very pleased with where we’re at,” she said.

As for personal projects, Paarsmith was recently able to start a tabletop gaming program, scheduled for the first Sunday of every month. The program allows for both Dungeons & Dragons and Magic the Gathering groups, as well as walk-in groups with their own games they want to play.

“I’m a big nerd, I have been since high school,” Paarsmith said. “I had started a D&D group at the Iowa City Public Library when I was an intern there in 2016, and I’ve kind of revitalized it at different places that I’ve been – and I was thinking about getting a group going here too.” Paarsmith is hopeful that the group will grow over time.

Looking ahead to other future plans, Paarsmith said she and her staff will continue to do what they can to serve the needs of the West Liberty community. “We want to make sure that we are what the people of West Liberty need, adapting to those changing needs.”

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