Idaho Librarian

LOU CHAVERS, OF
MARSHALL PUBLIC LIBRARY, RETIRES

Kristi N. Austin

Lou Chavers was set to retire in the summer of 2000 when Max Leek, then director of Marshall Public Library, accepted a position in Oregon. She generously agreed to serve as Interim Director (in addition to her duties as Assistant Director / Personnel Supervisor), never imagining that the job search for a new library director would extend for nearly three years. I interviewed her in her office at Marshall Public Library May 5, 2003, coincidentally the first day on the job for new director Mike Doellman.

Originally from Twin Falls, Idaho, where she worked for 16 years as an administrator at Magic Valley Memorial Hospital, Lou also lived in Las Vegas before moving to the Pocatello area in 1974. Though she was encouraged by a friend to take a position at Bannock Regional Medical Center, she decided she’d had enough of the unpleasantness of having to give bad news to the families of hospital patients. She had always enjoyed libraries, so when an opening was announced at the Pocatello Public Library, she applied for it. Told she probably wouldn’t be happy in the particular job for which she was applying, she instead took the position of Circulation Supervisor, in January of 1976. During her years at Pocatello (now Marshall) Public Library, she’s also worked as secretary, administrative assistant, assistant director / personnel supervisor (a position she’s held since about 1982), and finally, Interim Director. Moving from one position to another within the library provided her with new challenges, which she enjoyed.

Over the years she’s worked with several directors (David Friend, Howard Downey, Max Leek, and now, Mike Doellman), and in two locations. The earlier building was at 812 E. Clark, when the library was still called Pocatello Public Library. The Marshall family donated one million dollars towards the new building (at 113 S. Garfield, adjoining the old Carnegie Library building), completed in 1994. The new name honors the Marshall family’s generous support of the library. Learning to work with new directors and also moving to a new location can present many challenges for library staff, and Lou has been very helpful in easing the staff’s stress levels and helping to build morale during difficult times. Says Kathy Watson, currently a Readers’ Advisor at Marshall Public Library who has worked with Lou for 26 years, "In her quiet, unassuming way, Lou Chavers has always been the buffer between the staff and stressful times. Lou likes to joke about not being a sympathetic person, but her concern for her coworkers shines through whenever they need help."

Working as Personnel Supervisor presents its own challenges. At times there have been over 500 applicants for a few (mainly part time) library positions, and sorting through the piles of applications, selecting those that seem most promising, and interviewing a large number of applicants can be a rather daunting task. Being able to determine which applicants have a realistic understanding of the job for which they are applying has to be part of the hiring process, for as Lou says, "A lot of people have this idea that you go to the library to work and you get to read all the books… people have a funny idea about libraries and what we do."

As Interim Director, she had a lot of contact with the Library Board, the City Council, and the Mayor; this training will help her to serve as a liaison between the new library Director, Mike Doellman, and the library staff, the Board members (who are "very easy to work with," she says), and the Mayor, during her last four weeks before retiring. Lou has also offered to be on call to help train her replacement (the new Assistant Director / Personnel Supervisor, who will be hired by Mr. Doellman).

In 2002 Lou Chavers was selected by the Idaho Library Association to be the Idaho Librarian of the Year, a tribute that this modest, behind-the-scenes librarian was not expecting at all. "That’s for people who really do great things!" she said, adding that it was "an honor that was not expected," and "a nice way to retire." She felt that having a good staff and a good board really helped to keep the library going during the three years they were without a director.

Questions like, "What is your favorite thing about working in the library," and "what will you miss the most when you’ve retired?" all seem to elicit the same enthusiastic response from Lou: "The people!" She feels that being people-oriented is a necessary trait for those working in libraries, whether they are first-time library assistants (who need to be friendly and outgoing as well as book lovers) or the director (who has the difficult task of being supportive of both patrons and staff). A good library director really cares about people, and tries to be involved with and understand the community. 

Through the years, the library has provided her with some interesting times, both good and not so good. One of the good times she recounted was being able to help a patron locate a book the patron had read 20 years ago. Though she couldn’t recall the author or title, the patron did remember that "it was a red book on the third shelf." Lou says, "it was a red book, but not on the third shelf anymore," and feels that helping patrons locate "old friends" is one of the nicest things about working in a library.

Unfortunately, libraries may also be, very occasionally, the scene of unpleasantness, such as the time a fight took place on the second floor at Marshall, and the librarians who tried to break it up were also attacked. She certainly won’t miss that sort of activity!

Lou is looking forward to traveling with her husband, doing needlework and gardening, and (that incredible luxury!) reading for fun, when she finally retires at the end of May. Though picking a "favorite" book or author is very difficult, she mentions Francine Rivers as a writer whose work she’d recommend. She plans to reread some of the classics upon her retirement, and indulge her interest in history now that she’ll have a little more time. She won’t much miss always having to arrange her life around the clock, "sandwiching things between work hours;" having free time is an extravagance she’s eagerly anticipating, though she seems to have already filled the first six months of her retirement with things to do and places to go!

But working with the people at the library, staff and patrons alike, is something she’ll really miss, so she promises to return whenever she can. Some of the library patrons and staff have become "lifelong friends." So it is not very likely that, though she modestly calls herself more of a "behind the scenes" organizer ("don’t put me in the limelight!"), she is very much a people person. We hope she will continue her connections with Marshall Public Library and the Idaho Library Association even after she retires, for her wise, calm, and grounded presence will be missed.

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