Round Rock Librarian and Friends of the Pflugerville Community Library

Round Rock Librarian and Friends of the Pflugerville Community Library

Monday, 07 May 2007

Dale Ricklefs, Director, Round Rock Public Library

As a child, Dale Ricklefs would play “library” at home, cutting envelopes in half and putting in index cards to check out materials. Then young friends in the neighborhood would borrow books. So it made sense when she became director of the Round Rock Public Library in 1980.

For her, it is not the book that is important — it is the information. She sees the library as an open university, where people come to learn and prepare for life decisions. It is particularly important that parents and young children can choose from a wide variety of titles, she said.

“I love to see the diversity of people in this library getting the information or entertainment they need to make their lives better. That is my personal reward, and it makes me smile just thinking about it,” Ricklefs said.

Q. What are your responsibilities as library director?

A. I oversee a staff of 34, including 13 professional librarians. We administer a budget of about $2.3 million and have a circulation of about 650,000 items a year. There will be about 300,000 library visits this year. My primary responsibility is to provide leadership to the staff, develop and review programs and keep an eye on where the services should be going. I am also a member of the city manager’s department head team.

Q. Why are libraries an asset to the community?

A. While utilitarians would look at the library and say it provides the reading and listening population a great bang for their buck in that the library provides a shared resource, I think the public library is first and foremost a community meeting place. Over 50 percent of the Round Rock population has a library card, and an additional 10 percent don’t have a card, but use us for looking at material in-house. The library is one of the first places people go to once they are settled in, and it is where they are introduced to the community. Young parents make life-long friends by meeting each other weekly at a story time. Individuals volunteer to serve on the Friends of the Library Board, and can develop relationships in the community that way. Over 60 volunteers and community service restitution individuals see the workings of the library first hand. Meeting rooms provide a sense of place as well. All of these contribute to local citizenship in a community that is largely represented by people who are from somewhere else. Most of the citizens in this community appreciate their libraries, even in this day of Internet access. The library has changed in terms of the medium in which information is provided, but it has not lost its role in providing a “sense of place” and a refuge from commercialism and noise.

Q. What is an interesting fact about the library?

A. It was recently selected, out of over several hundred applicants, to be included in a book featuring libraries that are the heart of the community. The library was included for its fundraising efforts to assist the Gretna, Louisiana Public Library following the effects of hurricane Katrina. The book is entitled Heart of the Community, the Libraries We Love.

Q. What is your favorite book?

A. I tend to like material written by Herman Hesse and James Joyce. If I have to narrow it down, my favorite was Siddhartha, by Hermann Hesse. This book is about searching for truth and questioning one’s choices in life through an Eastern philosophical lens.

Education: Bachelor’s Degree, Illinois Wesleyan University; Master’s Degree in Library Science, University of Texas; Doctoral student, Business Management, Capella University.

Family: Husband of 34 years, Randy, son, Reyhan, daughter-in-law and a 30-month old grandson.

Contact Information: 218-7010, dalericklefs@austin.rr.com

Friends of the Pflugerville Community Library

Audrey Dearing has been involved with the Pflugerville library since 1981 as a member of the Friends of the Library, a volunteer organization, which assists the library. She believes education is important for today’s society.

“Knowledge and information is important to have access to. It should be available to everyone, not just those with money,” Dearing said. “The more knowledge people have, the better off they are.”

Editor’s note: The library director resigned as we were going to press for this issue. We have provided what we hope is interesting, useful information about the Friends and their commitment to the city. For more information, see October 2006 issue, page 13.

Q. Explain how the Friends of the Library are helpful.

A. The Friends support the library in whatever manner needed. We bought land and gave it to the city to use to build the library. Then we sponsored balloon rides and garage sales to raise money for the building of the library. Now we have two used book sales a year to raise money to buy more books. We also sponsored the building of the big window in the library as a thank you to the citizens of Pflugerville. Our mission is to support the library.

Q. How has the library changed through the years since you have been involved?

A. It began where Mr.[E.V.] Hernandez’s photography shop is, with nothing but a light bulb, not even heat, air or bathrooms. Then, it moved to where the engineering department [103 S. Third St.] is now. Then, we bought land and donated it to the city, which passed a bond to build the library. The present library opened in 1999.

Q. How was the library able to get Laura Bush to come to the opening of the library in 1999?

A. JoAnn Thornton [vice-president of the Friends board of directors] kept asking her, and she was gracious enough to come. Mrs. Bush was a former librarian, so she has a tender spot for libraries. We were delighted to have her.

Q. What projects are you proudest of and why?

A. I am proud to have started a successful library that the city has kept going. The fact that the library is even there, is great.

Q. What is your favorite book and why?

A. When I was a kid, I liked reading Wild West stories. My favorite book is Jack London’s Call of the Wild. It is a classic for kids and I have always been a nature and animal lover.

Friends of the Library information:

Meets third Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. in the library, 102 Tenth St. The semi-annual book sale is on the first weekend of May and November. Books, CDs and DVDs can be dropped at the library at any time.

Contact Information: www.friendsofpflugervillecommunitylibrary.org

Summer Book Sale fundraiser is this Friday and Saturday, May 4 and 5.