Brandon Twp.- The new library director has arrived in town, welcomed warmly by staff and patrons, if not by the weather, which featured frigid temperatures compared to California, from whence she came.
‘I’ve been gone for 31 years and I am thrilled to be back in Michigan,? said Rebecca Higgerson, whose first official day at the library was Jan. 5. ‘The biggest difference is the people? midwesterners are so friendly. Not that Californians are bad, but everyone is so nice and warm here.?
Higgerson, a Flint area native, was hired by the library board in October, but had a start date this week to give her time to relocate to Michigan. She was employed by the Sacramento Public Library for 20 years, most recently managing the Central Library, the fourth largest main library in California. Higgerson received her bachelor’s degree in geography from the University of California-Berkley in 1992 and earned her master’s in library science from Wayne State University in 1994.
She is looking forward to moving the library in a posi-tive direction in 2015. The library spent much of 2014 trying to recover from the deception of former library director Paula Gauthier, who resigned in November 2013 after it was discovered she had made false claims on her resume and had been operating the library without the bachelor’s and master’s degrees she professed to have. Such degrees are required for the director of a library of Brandon’s size in order to receive state aid revenue.
Higgerson’s plans for the library in the new year include addressing policies, procedures, and transparency.
‘I really want to make sure everything we do is transparent to the community and staff,? she said. ‘We have to have well-defined policies and I look forward to that? it’s my strength.?
Higgerson praised the library staff, saying there are many things the library is doing well, particularly youth programming. However, she would like to see more adults drawn into the library. She believes this can be accomplished through targetted programs.
‘We must find out what the community is passionate about and do those things,? said Higgerson. ‘I would like to use statistics to guide decisions we make, it’s part of the puzzle… We need to go back and look at what was successful in the past.?
She also believes it is important to take chances in programming, noting that staff can learn as much from programs that fail as those that succeed.
Staffing levels are down in the adult services area and besides completion of a state library report due at the end of the month, one of Higgerson’s top priorities will be the hiring of a full-time adult services librarian, as well as a teen specialist who will receive 32 hours per week. She hopes to fill the positions by mid-February.
The library’s budget is ‘stable,? Higgerson said. What is needed now is a reserve fund which will give library officials the ability to address any maintenance issues, but the Brandon Library, as well as libraries in general, have a bright future.
‘I think over the last five to 10 years the library is more about being a community gathering place,? she said. ‘Libraries will always exist and have physical books, but now there is downloadable content, too. For every pundit that comes along and says libraries are dinosaurs? well, not really, because we are still here providing a great community need. We’ve done many things well. The recent past took us off track, but my goal is to work with the great staff and trustees and get us back on track.?