Recently Waushara County Libraries have been seeing a lot of changes and innovations on how to provide patrons with the best experience. These changes have extended to the Directors of three Waushara County Libraries that have recently been introduced.
Plainfield, Redgranite, and Coloma all have new Library Directors who are excited to take on the community role.
Plainfield: Deb Sadowski has recently taken over as the Plainfield Library Director. She took on the role on Jan. 18, with two weeks of training from Linda Helmrick, who had been the director for 29 years. Linda retired on Jan. 30 and Deb was officially named the director on Feb. 1. She looks forward to getting to know the members of the Plainfield community. “I have big shoes to fill, Linda was and is an icon of the community. I will endeavor to do my best to follow in her footsteps,” Deb states.
Deb is quite qualified for the position as she has worked in the Winnefox Library System for 14 years. For 12 years she was the library assistant in Coloma. During that time, she was able to go back to school at the Minneapolis Community and Technical College. In May of 2018 she received a degree in Library Service and Technology, and interned at the Plainfield Library. She fell in love with the library, but her path first took her down the road as the director of the Redgranite Library, starting in Sept. of 2019. She applied to become the director of Plainfield in Dec. to serve in the library she had grown to love. Another fun fact about Deb is she was the correspondent for the Waushara Argus in the Coloma/Hancock area for 22 years from May of 1997 – Jan. 2019.
Deb shared some plans for the library, including the increase in social media presence as well as in person. In the future she would like to introduce and develop more programs and book clubs for all ages. At first, as a safety precaution amidst the pandemic, these will be virtual. As things start to open up Deb looks forward to having many classes and activities in person. Also, you can look forward to “Grab & Goes” at the Plainfield Library that will be in stock monthly for children and adults. These include craft projects with items and instructions in a bag. You are able to take those home to complete a project from the safety of your home.
As an obvious book lover, Deb’s favorite is “All the Weyrs of Pern” by Anne McCaffrey which you are sure to find while welcoming her to the Plainfield Library.
The Plainfield Library is located at 126 South Main St. They can be reached at 715-335-4523 or you can visit their website at https://www.plainfieldlibrary.org/
Redgranite: With Deb Sadowski resigning as the Redgranite Library Director, that made a new opening in Redgranite. Lisa Zwickey took over the role on Jan. 25. Her father was a huge reader and her mother was a reading teacher and consultant, which made her born for the role. She got her start in the library community while attending university. While there she worked in various school libraries.
After two years of working as a public librarian, Lisa found she loved every minute of it. She was also a corporate librarian for 22 years, then moved on to be the director of another small rural library. She was inspired to take on the position because of the community that surrounded it. “People – especially readers and learners - are great to talk to and get to know. I also like the idea that a library is in a great position to positively influence a community and its residents. It’s a wonderful feeling to be a small part of that,” Lisa told the Argus. She looks forward to meeting everyone and learning more about the Redgranite community.
As of right now the library is closed to the public due to the ongoing COVID situation, which makes it hard to hold or plan events. Lisa definitely has ideas for fun activities once it is safe to reopen. The Redgranite Library is currently doing curbside delivery and allowing use of two of their computers for use with an appointment, but please note that they are limited to what they can do.
Lisa is a huge reader, so when asked what her favorite book is it was hard to narrow down the selection. Her favorite author is Charles Dickens who Linda quotes “has a way of creating and bringing to life such memorable characters that I wouldn’t be surprised if I passed one or two of them on the street someday.”
To learn stay up date with the Redgranite Library you can visit their website at https://www.redgranitelibrary.org/ The Redgranite Public Library is located at 135 West Bannerman Ave. They can be reached at 920-566-0176 or by emailing director@redgranitelibrary.org
Coloma Library: Preston DeBolt was welcomed to the Coloma Library on Jan 1. He was inspired to take the position after his time interning at the Wautoma Public Library when completing his degree in Business Management at UW Stout. “As a Director I am able to give back to my community using my past experiences and knowledge in educating the public of available resources,” Preston informs.
Preston does have previous experience in the field, and even at the Coloma Public Library. He spent two and a half years at the Coloma Library as the Assistant Director. He also spent three years as a Head Start Policy Council Parent Board Member and as a Board Member of CAP Services.
During his time at the library Preston looks forward to focusing on community outreach and building new connections. He also plans on expanding the library’s resources to include literacy and driver’s education programs, rural Broadband Access in Wisconsin, financial literacy, and more.
As of Feb. 8, the Coloma Public Library has reopened the library for browsing with masks required and gloves are provided to patrons. Preston also shows excitement for upcoming changes and the Summer Reading Program Schedule. In March the library plans to launch their Flight Simulator System to the public with a Financial Literacy Programming following in April.
As a reader Preston recommends others to check out “Christian Wisdom of the Jedi Masters” by Dick Staub.
The Coloma Public Library is located at 155 N Front St. and can be reached at 715-228-2530. To learn more and stay up to date on the Coloma Library visit https://colomalibrary.org/
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Linda Helmrick, former Plainfield Library Director, hands over the keys to the new director Deb Sadowski. Deb is the new Plainfield Library Director and looks forward to her time in the community. -
Sandy Zuelke was the previous Library Director for Coloma. Sandy is knighting Preston DeBolt as he assumes his new role as the Coloma Library Director. -
Lis Zwickey has had a passion for reading and libraries since she was a child and has taken on the role as the new Redgranite Library Director for the community.