New librarian hired in Cherokee
The City of Cherokee recently hired a new librarian to take over the Cherokee City-County Library.
Jenny Royster Regier was hired and started on Dec. 28, 2020.
Regier is a graduate of Cherokee High School. After high school she attended and graduated from Northwestern Oklahoma State University. Later she obtained her masters from Fort Hays State University.
She has worked over 10 years in the library world with four years as an elementary librarian, six years in various roles with the Enid Public Library and a few months with the library on Vance Air Force Base before returning to Cherokee.
“I was a teacher for 16 years. I love kids. I love teenagers. I love people. But it wasn’t until I got into a public library that I really understood what I was really capable of. I have been blessed with several really amazing teachers in my life. That special sort of teacher who taught you lessons that you didn’t get the full impact of until you are much older. I thought they were preparing me to be a teacher. But this is what they were preparing me for. To be able to talk to anyone. To be able to recall book details of the books that I loved. To be able to tell stories to small people and keep them captivated. This is why I’m here,” Regier said.
Regier plans to bring the library up-to-date. Currently she said the library is using a cutter system, which very few libraries use and she is in the process of updating that system.
The process to update is a slow one, as every book has to be handled and processed, but once complete, it will make the library more user-friendly.
She also wants to update the young adult book section. Currently it is mixed in with the kids’ section and teens want some space and books to themselves. This is one of the first areas she is going to focus on.
“I believe that most people think that libraries are places where you go to get free books. But that simply isn’t all that libraries or librarians do. We are here to help our patrons learn whatever needs to be learned–regardless of the means: book, computer–even ordering something from another library. My goal is for our community to know that they can bring any need–any curiosity, to the library–and know that we will help them find the answer,” Regier said.
When asked about what it is like being a librarian during a pandemic, Regier said, “During the biggest part of the Covid Outbreak, I was employed at the Public Library of Enid and Garfield County, as the Director of the Library. We shut the library down to the public in March and didn’t open again to the public until early June. It was one of the most surreal experiences of my life. We made masks for the community, for different outreaches, we organized the library, relabeled different parts of the library, we worked on how things should be when we opened up again. We cleaned and cleaned and cleaned. We researched. We wanted our library to be ready when we could open. It was challenging. It is still challenging, balancing science with public belief/service.”
Currently there is an ongoing survey about what the patrons would like to see at the library. This survey can be accessed by going to the library Facebook page.
