OWEN SCHUMAN: 'This feels right; I see myself here.'
After 25-years as Groton Public Library Director, Owen S. Shuman is retiring this December. Ms. Shuman has fostered significant changes to the library since the start of her tenure in Groton Nov. 1, 1987. Throughout these years she has seen changes to the building, people using it, and some of the ways in which libraries function, "but the library endures, because it's a community center," says Shuman.
Reflecting on the beginning of her career in Groton, Shuman said, "I remember my interview. I came in on a summer night. The wooden floor creaked. The sun was setting through the windows, and all the Trustees were in one room. I liked the library. I remember thinking, 'This feels right; I see myself here.'"
Big change has to start somewhere and Shuman recalls, "The library closed at lunch when I got here. I was the youngest employee so in our staff meeting I was nervous proposing the idea to expand hours to the four women who were working here at the time. But sure enough they agreed. We decided to stay open during lunch and give the town seven more hours a week. We staggered lunches to accommodate the new schedule," said Shuman. She added, "When I started, the library was open 30 hours a week; it's now open 44 hours a week."
In 1987 GPL's borrowing rate was at 40,000 items per year. Five years later in 1992 this number had doubled to 80,000; by 1994 borrowing had grown to 103,000. Currently, Groton lends 240,000 items per year.
By 1989 Shuman and the Trustees knew that the library needed more space. The library had 4,000 square feet and hadn't been touched since the building was dedicated and opened in 1893 when it served a population of only 2,000 people.
Shuman created the Space Needs Committee and in 1990 began studying expansion options. Shuman initiated steps for expansion. "We applied for a grant in 1995, were denied, and in 1996 we re-wrote it. The grant was approved by the state September 19, 1996," a date Shuman remembers well, as it was her birthday. The building project more than quadrupled the size of the library to 17,000 square feet. The grant awarded $1.2 million, leaving the town to raise $1.8 million for the $3 million project. When it came down to it, Town Meeting vote was 412 to 9, overwhelmingly in favor of the expansion. "We began construction in 1997. The 12-month project turned into a 22-month project, and we opened in March 1999," she recalled.
Reminiscing about some of the most significant changes throughout the years, Shuman remembers, "We got The Computer in 1988. The original Mac." Shuman also initiated a video collection (VHS) around this time. She recalls a young man in his 20s named Ed McNierney who moved to town and inquired about becoming a library trustee. "He helped us obtain our first public computer, as well as public access computers in the late 80s and early 90s...We've gone from one computer in 1989, to 40 computers and 10 laptops now. Around 1994 we automated the library. Volunteers put barcodes on every book." Since then, the card catalog has been crafted into a display on a large table, which is still in the library, an artifact of the 20th century. In September 2000 the GPL upgraded to a web-based computer system, which included CDs, the card catalog, articles, and reference books. GPL rose to number one in items borrowed out of its population group.
Asked about how all the technological innovations have affected the library, Shuman responded, "What I find is that people still want to come to a public library for a sense of serenity. It's a sanctuary. A lot of people come to study, or just to be still. Libraries are changing rapidly, but what I'm seeing is libraries adapting, offering the technology."
The Library continues to respond to a changing world. E-readers and self-checkouts were added last year. In 25 years Shuman has gone from the addition of videos and the first paperback rack to presenting the public with e-content. "We could never have envisioned e-content," says Shuman.
Thinking about how people have changed the ways they use the Library, Shuman recalled that in 2000, the Library added the Young Adult area and subsequently a YA librarian in 2001. The library has come a long way since 1987 when there was only "the teen corner." But, for some perspective, Young Adult literature was hardly the popular genre then that it is today. In 2002 the Library began opening on Sundays from January to April thanks to an anonymous donor, and after two years the town picked up the cost to remain open on Sundays.
After the expansion project was completed, the Library established a $1.2 million private endowment fund. The endowment makes possible the wide range of programs, services, special needs, an art gallery, and also pays for prizes awarded during summer reading programs which last summer enrolled 900 children. It helped create the reading garden named in memory of Katie Madigan who served as trustee for 30 years.
The Library has become a vehicle for life-long learning. In 2011 there were 115 adult programs including Ted Talks, a volunteer program, Spanish and French conversation groups. For children there is a "Read-to-a-dog program and even a book discussion group for children. The Library has been recognized at the state level for its "Groton Reads" program which is in its ninth year.
Ms. Shuman offers a warm welcome to Vanessa Abraham, who will be the new Library Director and only the ninth person to fill that role since Groton's first library. "She will be a tremendous asset and a perfect fit," said Shuman.
Summing up her career, Shuman said, "I am just lucky to have been in the right place at the right time. A better job I could not have imagined. It was a lot of fun...It's been an honor to be in a community that loves to read." Shuman also emphasized gratitude for all her co-workers, "The success of GPL is due to the staff who are committed to customer service, who know library users and their reading tastes. This service-oriented staff, combined with dedicated Trustees, is our smaller library community who work to serve as the heart of the greater Groton community. We are a team--the volunteers, staff, and trustees."
