The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

DAYTON - Having de- voted 30 years working at the Dayton Memorial Library, Sue Hagfeldt quietly retired as branch manager in March, passing the torch to new manager, Amy Rosen- berg.

"Sue insisted on not being honored with a retirement party, but she was so beloved by the community that we still have patrons come to the library and asking where she is," said Columbia County Rural Library Board Chair, Tanya Patton. "Sue has a wonderful way with people, especially children. She will be greatly missed."

Hagfeldt and her husband, Glenn, moved to Dayton from northeastern Montana, in 1972. With an educational background in nursing, Hadfeldt became an LPN, but quickly decided, "the work wasn't for me."

Hagfeldt held several part-time jobs in the area, including teaching pre-school, inspecting mushrooms at Green Giant and working four years at the school district, before finding her niche with the library. Thirty years ago, she took a part-time, evening, fill-in position at Dayton Memorial Library where she remained - ad- vancing to branch manager - until her recent retirement.

During that time, Hag- feldt put her background in preschool education to work developing a unique Baby Storytime that is well attended by the community. "Baby Storytime is geared to children from birth to 18 months or so," she said. "We focus on rhyming, rhythm, antici- pation, and movement; all necessary pre-reading skills. We even have a tummy-time for the tiny ones."

Hagfeldt said her favor- ite part of the job was the people. "I made sure when they walked in that they got a welcome and a smile. You would be amazed at how much of a difference that makes," she said. "People feel free to ask questions and approach us. That's what we're there for; especially for the little ones."

"The people," is also what she says she will miss the most. "I would get to know the kids, who would come in with their parents, then they would get busy in the high school years and you wouldn't see them for awhile. But a few years down the road, they would be back, this time with their own children."

Hagfeldt took her "big retirement trip", prior to her actual retirement, last fall when she and Glenn visited Egypt, Jordan and Israel. "I basically completed my entire bucket list!" said Hagfeldt.

She plans to spend her days "reading until I'm sick of it and cleaning ev- ery nook and cranny in my house." Hagfeldt looks forward to spending time with her new great grand- son, here in Dayton, and attending special events for her grandchildren in Dayton and Tri-Cities.

Hagfeldt expressed spe- cial appreciation for her "excellent bosses", former director Lynn Williams and current director, Janet Lyon.

Amy Rosenberg, who moved to Dayton from Pendleton two years ago, is the new branch manager at Dayton Memorial Library. Rosenberg earned her Bach- elor of Arts Degree in Art History from Portland State University, intending to earn her doctorate and teach in a university. Her plans changed after talking with a friend who was enrolled in an information program, and learning more about librarianship, an occupation Rosenberg had never considered, but which held immediate appeal.

After moving to Dayton, Rosenberg was hired as branch supervisor at the Prescott Library, where she worked until accepting the branch manager position in Dayton. Rosenberg is in the process of completing her Masters of Library and Information Science Degree from the University of Washington, through their online program.

"This is an exciting time to be involved in informa- tion services as libraries are changing; they're on the cusp of becoming something different than what they've always been," said Rosenberg. "There will always be a need for books and movies, but now people are learning to use new technologies and there are always new things coming out. Libraries are a great means for finding resources and learning to use information technologies. We are moving into the future - it is a big time of change."

Amy Rosenberg

Rosenberg is enjoying her work in Dayton and says, "I love being able to serve the community where I live. I love Prescott; it's an amazing community. But it's nice to meet and serve the people in my own com- munity."

Rosenberg, who worked alone in Prescott, appreciates working with library assistants Sandy Dare and Heather Stearns, as well as director Janet Lyon. "Day- ton Memorial is a great library with lots of great resources. I like having co-workers again and I'm learning a ton. It's nice to have Janet to learn from. I'm really glad to be here."

"Amy is a great addition to our library district staff," said Patton. "She's enthusi- astic about the role of librar- ies in the 21st century and understands the importance of customer service, especially in a small community library."