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Ellie Anderson joined the JCLS staff as head of Ashland Library Adult Services in October.
Ellie Anderson
Ellie grew up in Maui, Hawaii, received her BA in English and theater from Oberlin College, and her MLIS from Rutgers. Much of her library career has been in California, from Teen Services in South San Francisco to Children’s Services in San Mateo County, to Youth, Reference and Outreach Services Manager at Monterey Public Library.
After more than a decade in the San Francisco Bay area, she and her husband were both ready for life in a smaller community, especially one with Ashland’s cycle of seasons. She remembers that “ watching my little boys see snow fall for the first time and tulips peek out of the earth was delightful.”
AS a JCLS newbie, Ellie is “impressed by the caliber of the staff and how they prioritize working together and supporting each other. I’m also very pleased to be part of an organization with a strong commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion. It takes work and intentionality to truly be a public institution that is open and welcoming to everyone in a community, even and especially marginalized populations, and JCLS is doing that work.”
Ellie is developing ways to make the library’s collection even more appealing and easy to use and to highlight smaller collection areas that can sometimes be overlooked. She is also looking forward to working with Adult Services staff to expand the variety of library programs and connections.
In addition to reading, Ellie enjoys baking and getting into nature, and calls herself “a middling but enthusiastic container gardener.” Right now, she is reading The Giver of Stars by JoJo Moyes, a novel based on the real-life Packhorse Librarians who brought reading material to people in remote areas of the Kentucky mountains during the Depression.
Welcome, Ellie!
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You may write about anything you choose, but possible prompts include: What does community mean to you? How are you a leader in your community, or how would you like to be? What are your favorite things about living in Southern Oregon? What is one of your favorite books?To celebrate National Library Week in April, the Friends surprised Ashland Library staff with Ashland Chamber of Commerce gift certificates that they can use at over forty local businesses. We were glad for a chance to say thank-you for the terrific job the whole staff has done in challenging circumstances the last year.
Pat Fuhrman says thanks to Library Associates Clare Taylor (left) and Holly Mills.
Bonnie Johnson presents a gift card to Security Guard, Scott Derrico.
Thank you to all who have renewed your membership for 2021. If you would like to renew but your paper renewal form has gone astray, you can join online here. Together we can continue to give strong support to the Ashland Library and Jackson County Library Services .