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Librarian has a read on community needs

Photo

Photo by Bill Olmsted

Michelle Dennis

CLINTON — On hot summer days, the kids at Shady Hill Trailer Park gather in the shade cast by several massive oaks.

Sitting between twin septic system mounds, the children listen to stories and play games. And at the end of the morning, each gets to go home with a book.

"We had a little boy who brought one of the books back," said Michelle Dennis, Clinton Public Library director. "When we told him he could keep it, he said, 'Yippee, now I have two!'"

Two books.

For Dennis, those words represent both a terrible tragedy and a tiny victory.

Children without books are living in practical and spiritual poverty. Without books, their worlds are smaller, less joyful. Without books, they'll be behind before they even start school.

"I think every single person should have books; I think every single person should have access to a library," Dennis said. "Not to wax too religious, but I do feel like it's a call."

And that's Dennis for you—she feels called to reach out to people who face the world with too many challenges to count.

Her favorite jobs have included working in a group home with adults with multiple mental illnesses and working with teenagers with behavior disorders.

Since 1994, she's been the library director in Clinton, and she's made it her calling to reach out to the whole community of 2,000.

Using the resources of her tiny library and finding others through grants and donations, she has launched the Shady Hill program, upgraded the library's technology literacy programs, expanded story hours and included information on how parents can promote literacy to children and helped with English-as-a-second language classes.

She has partnered with the school district and volunteered with the chamber of commerce and the local historical society.

Most of all, she loves her job.

"I like the people; I like the variety," Dennis said. "I can walk over and discuss a book with a senior citizen. I can be playing on the floor with a child. After school, I get to hang out with the teens."

And the library—and her community—loves her.

"Oh, she's just a kind, giving person," said Diane Beilke, ESL teacher and Clinton Library Board member. "She's enthusiastic and very excited about everything she gets involved in—and she's involved in everything, and not just as a figurehead."

Cathy Manthei, a community volunteer and longtime resident, said Dennis fearlessly reaches out to the underprivileged.

"For some of us, that's really a stretch," Manthei said. "It's not easy. We are so thankful for Michelle's presence in the community."

Manthei volunteers at the local food pantry and has met some of the Shady Hill residents.

"I have so many moms say to me, 'My child can read because of Michelle,' or 'My child loves books because of Michelle,'" Manthei said. "She totally had this vision of the trailer park program; it was one woman's idea. It proves to me that one person can make a difference."