City of Stillwater NEWS | For Immediate Release
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Librarian Recilla Harms 'to check out' retirement
Stillwater Public Library bids Harms a fond farewell
(STILLWATER, OKLA. / May 23, 2011) – Recilla Harms, Stillwater's adult services librarian, is ready to "check out." After nine and a half years of service, Harms is retiring from the Stillwater Public Library May 31.
Harms came to the Stillwater Public Library from the Chickasha Public Library where she served as the children's librarian, and before that she was a teacher. Harms said, “Many librarians start out in other fields, but sometimes being a librarian just fits. I like working here; I like the staff; I like the people.”
Decided that teaching was not her passion, Harms earned her master’s degree in teaching education in library science from the University of Central Oklahoma. She planned to work for a public school, but “those positions weren’t available. This job came open and I’m glad it did!”
Library Director Lynda Reynolds said, “Recilla will not only be missed by the staff of the Stillwater Public Library, but by her professional colleagues in the state of Oklahoma for her leadership, creativity and upbeat attitude. She has served on numerous Oklahoma Library Association committees and has had an impact statewide. For example, Recilla was instrumental in creating the state's teen summer reading program, and she served several terms on the Sequoyah Reading Team.”
Harms believes that her greatest accomplishment at the library was establishing the summer reading program for teens. “When I got here, there wasn’t anything for grades 6 through 12. Since then we’ve grown from zero to 237 teens enrolled in our programs with 487 attending programming. The number of students and hours read keeps growing each year.” Last summer, teens in the summer reading program read 8,280 hours, which was a thousand more than the previous summer.
Reynolds said, “In addition to summer programming, Recilla established numerous programs for teens during the school year, including the wildly popular Valentine's Day Chocolate Festival. Because of Recilla's influence, we now have on-going monthly teen clubs for Anime and Creative Writing.”
The sewing circle at Stillwater Public Library is another of Harms’ favorite projects. “The ladies bring their sewing jobs to the library, and I read to them while they work,” Harms said.
Harms also taught herself HTML coding to create and maintain the library’s website. “As webmaster, Recilla redesigned the library's website and provides up-to-date information on library programs and services, including links to online databases, downloadable book collections, Stillwater Public Schools, and the OSU Library,” said Reynolds.
Working with the public is something that has always given Harms fulfillment. She said, “It’s nice to help someone find something they can’t or tell them what they need to know.”
As a retiree, Harms plans to catch up on her reading and other hobbies, as well as spend more time with Darrell, her husband of 44 years, and their grandchildren.
She said, “Some days I think, why am I even retiring? The staff here is great, and I’m going to miss them a lot.”
Reynolds said, “Personally, I'll miss Recilla as a colleague and a friend. She's someone I've always bounced ideas off of, and I’ve appreciated her deep insights on how to improve services at the library.”
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Contact: Sherry Fletcher, Director of Marketing and Public Relations
Phone: 405.742.8362
E-mail: sfletcher@stillwater.org
Web: stillwater.org