New NHPL CEO/head librarian fulfills her lifelong dream

Michael Riley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Bancroft Times

Since Aug. 26, Kate Harris has been the new permanent CEO/head librarian at the North Hastings Public Library, a role she had been doing in an interim capacity since April. She has over six years of experience, a Masters in Library Services and a lot of experience across her positions at public libraries and in private educational libraries. Harris speaks to The Bancroft Times about her new role at NHPL and what she’d like to accomplish going forward.

The Town of Bancroft sent out a media release on Aug. 23 with the news that Harris had been placed into a permanent role as NHPL’s CEO/head librarian, calling her an enthusiastic and passionate leader. In the release, Harris said she was honoured to be joining the NHPL team and that it had been a lifelong dream. “Libraries play a vital role in our communities, and I look forward to working with residents, library staff, and board members to grow our library and realize our mission and vision of lifelong learning and connecting creative communities within an inclusive space. I am committed to the belief that libraries are foundational community spaces and with collaboration, I hope to continue to foster a vibrant community hub for the residents of our townships,” she says.

On Sept. 5, Harris told The Bancroft Times that her new job was going great and she was so excited and energized that she wants to know everything at once and has to remind herself that it’s a process.

“We, the library staff, all began working together at the end of last fall and we know each other well. We learned the library together and are really able to work together and support one another. We’ve all got different work backgrounds, and so between us, we bring a wide variety of skills and experience to North Hastings Public Library,” she says.

Running the NHPL is her dream job, according to Harris. She grew up here in Bancroft and used to walk down to the library after school from the old Bancroft Public School and the librarian would call Harris’ mom at closing time to come and get her.

“I’m a big reader and I’ve always loved libraries. Whenever I move to a new place, the first thing I do is go get a library card. I love that libraries are a community hub, one of the last few ‘third spaces’ we have in our communities where things are free and people can hang out or get research help, talk or not talk. Taking over the North Hastings Public Library, an institution that I strongly believe in, in my hometown community that I love, is about as good as it gets for me,” she says.

Harris reveals that the majority of her work experience in libraries has been in academic libraries and archives. She says she always loved working with archival collections and doing primary source research.

“The biggest part of what I loved is the organization, categorization, and classification of knowledge, the structure of our information systems and how we retrieve information. Each element has a whole department, cataloguing, circulation, etc. In a smaller library, there’s more control over all aspects of decision making that can allow one to create and execute strategic plans that can affect actual change in service delivery, programming, and policy. So combined with being a huge book nerd and an advocate of public libraries, I made the decision to move from university libraries to public libraries,” she says.

As to what prompted her to forge a career in libraries, Harris says she did a pre-law undergraduate degree, which involved an enormous amount of library research. She says that in law research, one of the most important skills is being able to retrieve every relevant piece of legislation or information and missing something can have disastrous consequences, so really, for her it was an undergraduate degree in research.

“What I realized was that I loved research, not the law. What I loved and obsessed over is understanding how we record, store, and retrieve knowledge. Archives are very much the same as with public libraries as well. The classification of knowledge is both a system and an art form. So, a career where I got to nerd out about information architecture and also buy a lot of books is ideal for me,” she says.

Secondly, Harris thinks that public libraries are so very important to communities and that it’s about access to information, creativity and accessibility.

“They represent education, safe spaces, curiosity, and free or affordable services. A library is so many things to so many different people and the value that a library gives back to its community vastly exceeds the dollars invested. Plus, they’re an entire institution and profession dedicated to organized book hoarding. Library people, whether patrons or staff, are, for the most part, an eclectic bunch of collaborators, information lovers, and readers. I’ve always felt at home in libraries and I want to support that experience for every person in this community,” she says.

Harris says that for a small library, she was surprised the most by the high quality of NHPL’s collections. She says that the previous librarians left her large shoes to fill and did such an amazing job meeting the needs of their patrons.

“I’ve also been pleasantly surprised by the dedication and love of the library from the municipalities and individual patrons. I’m taking over a valued community institution from both skilled and committed librarians, and the individuals who use it. I’ve loved, absolutely loved, getting to know the library patrons, who are often not shy about redirecting me if I’ve missed ordering a new book in a series or changed a service that they use. I love the feedback and I love that people are willing to talk about what they want from the library and how welcomed I have been by everyone. This is an enormous job that spans everything from an administrative role to day-to-day tasks like cataloguing and collections development. I anticipate many hiccups as I learn the ins and outs of this library but hopefully everyone will continue to give me feedback, a successful library takes a whole community of collaboration,” she says.

Harris says she wants to accomplish so many things at the NHPL over the coming years, programming being at the top of the list. She says that as they develop their Strategic Plan, looking ahead to their new space (the North Hastings Inspiration Place), she would like to see the library become a true community hub and creative space.

“In terms of programming this means adding in some basic kids’ programming, networking with schools and homeschool groups, and parents to determine what people’s needs are and develop programming that supports that. This summer, we added some passive kids programming, a ‘design your own book cover’ and take home ‘break in activity bags’ which were very popular. For adults, we’re starting a monthly evening talk, which will have rotating topics geared to seasonal interests. This August we did our first one, a Philosophy Cafe which was a talk directed by a philosophy professor discussing the question, ‘why do bad things happen to good people?’ We got amazingly positive feedback from the attendees, and it resulted in a donation to the library to develop our philosophy book collection. We’re currently planning more activities for the fall and winter, as well as a marketing plan to ensure that people know what is going on at the library. Our new library building will be larger and more accessible and include meeting spaces, allowing us to expand our collections, offer additional resources, and increase community programming. As we move forward with planning in our current space, we will ensure that our offerings can accommodate the growth that the new spaces will allow for,” she says.

Harris says that the transition from the old library space and the new North Hastings Inspiration Place has been mostly smooth sailing, and says that with any major project like this there are always bumps. But she feels confident that that Bancroft council and the staff at the Town have made decisions about the project that will service them well in the long run.

“We’re really looking forward to offering more community spaces and to finally have the facility to run programming the way we’ve always wanted to. There is so much coming to look forward to and once our patrons get to walk through the doors the very first time, I’m certain that all of the work put in will have been worth it. I truly couldn’t be more excited about what this means for us,” she says.

Harris says that the best thing about being the CEO/head librarian at NHPL has been the energy and enthusiasm for the library from the board, the municipalities, the staff and the patrons.

“Everyone I’ve worked with is as excited about growing this library as I am. How amazing is that?! I love all the readers and talking about books and finding the books that people want to read. I love finding solutions within the parameters that I have to work with and this role provides that all. I am so excited to have the opportunity to work with our municipalities and individuals to grow this library into a true community hub and gathering space,” she says.

Harris told The Bancroft Times that she wanted to thank everyone for having her here in this role as the CEO/head librarian at NHPL.

“And secondly, I want to know what you want from your library. My goal is to build on the hard work of the library staff who came before me to create a welcoming, accessible, community hub that meets the needs of everyone in our municipalities. I see my role as a facilitator of a community space and directing the library to reflect our community and individuals’ needs.”

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