After three years, Bremen librarian Yvonne Gloede worked her last day on Saturday, May 8.
Gloede and her husband are moving back to New Jersey to be closer to their daughter in New York City.
“This has been a wonderful, fun job and the people in Bremen have been so supportive,” Gloede said. “The library has been a safe place for many people to come during COVID to get books and to connect with other people, even if it’s only in the parking lot.”
Gloede said the Bremen Library’s board, which she called “the best library board I’ve worked with,” has found the perfect candidate to replace her.
Kristen Budlong, a children’s librarian at a Montessori school in Boston with an interest in moving out of school libraries and into libraries that serve the general public, will start June 16. In the interim, the Bremen Library will remain open to the public and will be staffed by experienced volunteers.
In her three-year stint, Gloede did an extensive weeding of the library’s stacks and updated the collection. She was involved in an annual garden tour and silent auction, an important fundraiser for the library.
Gloede spearheaded monthly art shows featuring local artists whose works are displayed in the meeting room and on the library’s walls. The artists donate 20% of their sales to the library. Gloede also ramped up monthly programming in the meeting room, at least until COVID-19 interfered.
Gloede worked with a group of homeschooling parents who make good use of the children’s section in the library to update the collection based on their curriculum. She said that kids’ events are well attended and the kids’ books are well used.
Gloede herself is a fan of domestic thrillers, Nordic noir, and mysteries as a whole. She said that many Bremenites share her taste in books, with detective fiction being hugely popular, and authors like Louise Penny and Jacqueline Winspear commonly requested.
Gloede said she will miss the connection with the people here, who have been supportive and friendly. She said she has been inundated with farewell gifts and messages.
