Norma Joyce Scott was well known in this community and well known by library staff as she visited the library weekly and was a regular donor of books as well as magazine subscriptions, many of which are still ongoing. After her death in 2013, the library received a large bequest from Ms. Scott which is funding the entrance renovation.

The Friends of the Library also received a bequest. Knowing how important youth workforce training is, the Library Director, Courtney Oberhansli, approached the Friends with the idea of funding two students to be trained as library pages. Brea Schlepp and Jessika Trujillo are the two current library pages. They have been trained in many aspects of library work and have gained office skills and experience working with the public. They have been an integral part of the staff this past year and the experience has been beneficial to them, the staff, and library patrons. Their training/employment will be completed by the end of June and they will be missed by staff and patrons alike.

An exciting part of the experience will be participation in the American Library Association annual conference in San Francisco at the end of June. Beyond their paid work hours, both young women volunteered hours toward the trip to San Francisco which will be funded by the Friends.

While at the conference, they will participate in sessions that relate to libraries and young adults, as well as experience the exciting exhibit hall teeming with publishers and vendors. They will have a chance to meet authors and receive free signed copies of new books. They will also bring back plenty of “swag” that will be some of the prizes that winning patrons will receive this summer when they enter the reading lotteries at Mineral County Library. Along with Assistant Director, Christina Boyles, who will be chaperoning the two young women, Brea and Jessika will attend a play, go on a segue tour of San Francisco, and visit Chinatown. It will be a whirlwind long weekend for them, but they will return with a new appreciation for the wider world of libraries beyond our wonderful local library.

Mineral County Friends of the Library deserve a pat on the back for the farsighted use of their funds — changing two young women and preparing them for their futures. Norma Joyce Scott would be proud.