Sue Foote has always loved books, and for 20 years, she has indulged that passion by volunteering at the Squamish Public Library.
Every Thursday afternoon, Foote has been making her way to the library to — as she termed it — “check out books and do whatever they ask me to do.”
Foote, one of 10 people who volunteers at least a couple of hours a week at the library’s front desk, will be among those recognized at the library’s volunteer and staff appreciation dinner on April 23. But even though it’s been 20 years, she’s not looking for accolades.
“I so enjoy the library, I don’t think there should be a lot of fuss made out of it because I feel that I get more out of it than they do,” she said on Friday (April 4).
The library, which has an annual operating budget of $1.1 million, has 20 paid employees working 11.69 FTE (full-time equivalent) positions. In 2013, it served 103,222 visitors (an average of 40 people per hour that the library is open), loaned out 186,048 items, had 10,228 people attend 455 programs and 3,192 people attend outreach programs away from the library.
It would be an overstatement to say that the library couldn’t run without volunteers, but not a huge one, said Hilary Bloom, who was recently named the new, permanent library director.
Bloom, who has been working in various roles at the library since 2002, said volunteers put in an average of 25 hours a week at the front desk. That’s in addition to the fundraising efforts of the Friends of the Squamish Library — whose latest fundraiser was a used book sale last weekend — and the Teen Group, which comes in to help set up displays in the children’s area. There’s also a group that comes in to help set up the monthly displays at the Foyer Gallery.
“We staff the library to ensure that we don’t have to close the doors,” Bloom said, “but the volunteers do what I call enhancement. They take a bit of a load off the hands of staff when it’s busy.”
Sometimes, she said, the interests of one of the regular volunteers help shape the displays of books and other materials available at the library.
In addition to “quietly and faithfully coming here every week” to offer her services, Foote also sometimes brings tea and treats for the staff to enjoy during their breaks.
Foote said she enjoys talking to patrons about books. She has also become close friends with several staff members, including front-desk staffer Sonya Dhami.
“She helps locate books that might interest me,” Foote said. “I read what she reads. We have similar tastes.”
The Friends of the Library is also marking 20 years this month. In addition to regular used book sales, the “Friends” have staged a number of unique fundraisers, said current president Andrea Gailus. In 2003, they sold some 2,000 hand-knitted toques for $10 each.
Cash raised by the Friends of the Library goes toward computers and computer games, furniture, materials for the children’s area and other items.
Bloom said she recognizes there are dozens of groups in town, and hundreds of events, that rely heavily on volunteers to make them go. But she said it’s fitting to focus on the library vollies to mark National Volunteer Week, April 6 to 12.
“Why do we love our volunteers so much?” she asked. “Because they bring a new perspective and more closely tie us to our community. Some of them have lived here a long time and have a lot of knowledge about the history of the town.”
