Library patrons, city officials and other interested members of the community had the opportunity to meet the new East Lansing Public Library director, Kristin Shelley, on Friday at a reception held in her honor.
The reception was held at the library, 950 Abbot Road, and was put on by the Friends of the East Lansing Public Library. The event allowed community members to meet Shelley in an informal setting.
Shelley, who started her new position as director Jan. 18, said the reception was a good way for her to introduce herself to the community and present her vision and goals for the library in the near future.
She said she’s received a lot of warm welcomes from library staff and patrons so far and was glad she came into a program already well-established in the community.
“This is a beautiful library, it’s a very well kept up library (and) it’s a very good library,” Shelley said.
“It’s nice to be able to walk into a well-run ship.”
Shelley said self-checkout stations, an expansion of the teen literature collection and new collaborations with MSU students and staff were some of the areas she’d like to focus on.
She said one thing she’d like to see happen is the enactment of an MSU library card so students can have better access to the library’s resources.
“Right now, MSU students have to get a special library card, and I would like them just to be able to have a regular library card, no matter if they live in East Lansing or not,” Shelley said.
“(I want to make) them feel welcome — this library is their library too.”
Carole Dodgson, vice president of the East Lansing Library Board of Trustees and a member of Friends of the East Lansing Public Library, said the reception was a good way to give Shelley a warm welcome into the community in a festive manner.
She said Shelley likely would make the library more successful by bringing in her experience and new ideas, especially in light of expected upcoming budget cuts.
“We’ve hired a director with a lot of experience and a lot of enthusiasm and we’re very excited to have her take the library to the next level,” Dodgson said.
Many longtime library patrons were excited to get the chance to meet Shelley and thought she would help the city move forward in excellence, East Lansing resident Tom Plasman said.
“Really what (East Lansing has) done is position themselves to move ahead,” Plasman said.
“I think Mrs. Shelley coming to town is going to help that.”
East Lansing Mayor Vic Loomis said the reception was a good way to welcome Shelley into the city and would help to engage her in the community.
He said there was a largely positive community reaction to Shelley and said he thought she would be very successful in the new position.
“She comes with a lot of experience and excellent background, and she has a lot of energy, a lot of great ideas,” Loomis said. “We’re really excited to have her here.”
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