PORT TOWNSEND — Melody Sky Eisler, who strives to attract more people to the library, also believes the library should visit them.
“I hope we can do a lot of public outreach,” said Eisler, who finished her third week as the new Port Townsend Library director Friday.
“We should get out and meet people where they are and connect with them, with programs like pop-up libraries or running a booth at the farmers market,” she said.
“Sometimes a library is a town’s best-kept secret.”
Eisler said the library should reflect Port Townsend’s strong artistic identity.
The library moved back into its Carnegie location at 1120 Lawrence St. this summer after more than two years in a temporary location during renovation.
Since the reopening, pieces by Port Townsend artists have found a home on the library walls.
Eisler, 34, was named Melody after music by her parents, a jazz musician father and a philosopher mother, and given the middle name Sky “because they wanted me to know the sky was no limit.”
After training as an artist, which led to an undergraduate degree, she found the library calling on a trip to Egypt.
“The seeds of librarianship were planted in me when I studied in Egypt as an undergrad and visited the newly rebuilt library of Alexandria,” she said.
“It was exciting for me to see how libraries could work to build communities and bring people together.
“For me, that was inspiring and showed me how libraries could be used to build good in the community.”
Eisler was hired from the Silverdale Library, where she worked as branch manager, a position she held for four years.
In Port Townsend, she is earning $80,644 annually.
Eisler was chosen from four semi-finalists selected from a field of 19 applicants to fill the position that has been vacant since July 2013 when Theresa Percy took early retirement.
Percy left after Technical Services Manager Keith Darrock filed a workplace complaint saying she had advocated passage of a proposed $3 million bond issue for library renovation while on office time.
Darrock was one of the four finalists for the director position.
Since Percy’s retirement, director duties have been assumed by Bev Shelton, a former Port Townsend Library director.
Eisler said the library is embracing new technology with its membership in Overdrive, which allows loans of audio and electronic books.
The electronic literature is downloaded to the borrower’s computer or device for a finite amount of time. When that expires, the books can no longer be listened to or read.
If there are no holds on the item, it can be renewed, but since the access expires at the end of the loan period, fines are never assessed.
Eisler said that libraries still have a place in the information age, recalling a quote by author Neil Gaiman: “Google can bring you back 100,000 answers. A librarian can bring you back the right one.”
As of today, Eisler will not be the “new kid” in city offices anymore. That’s when newly hired Planning Director Lance Bailey arrives.
“I’m looking forward to working with this new group,” City Manager David Timmons said Friday.
“We’ve been fortunate and have been able to get some really talented people.”
When Bailey arrives, he will join the process of developing a new comprehensive plan and aid in the establishment of new business practices, Timmons said.
Eisler said her youth is an advantage in her new job.
“I bring a lot of passion and energy to every position I’ve held,” Eisler said.
“I’m excited about this job, I think I am arriving at the perfect time when there are a lot of wonderful things to look forward to.”
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
