Suzanne Robinson, Continuing Education Librarian, will retire from MCLS on June 10.  We wish her much happiness in her pursuit of leisure time and personal interests!  We interviewed her about her time at MCLS and her plans for the future.

How long have you worked at MCLS?

I started in August of 2001, just a couple of months after retiring from Holt Junior High, where I was the “Teaching Librarian” for 25 years.  I’m a huge supporter of K-12 libraries!

What positions have you held?

My first assignment was doing technical support for the MeL Databases, and I also began teaching the onsite workshops for them.  After some staff changes at what was then called MLC, I took over the position of MeL Databases Training Coordinator, which I held until about 2 years ago.  For the last couple of years, I have been the Continuing Education Librarian for MCLS, coordinating our online workshop program.

What has been your favorite part of working at MCLS?

The people!  The staff at MCLS is a group of amazing, smart, and dedicated people.  I’ve learned so much from so many different colleagues!

What will you miss most?

The interaction with librarians from, literally, all over the world.  First, I found it rewarding to work with and help library staff from all over Michigan, but in the past two years I have worked with library staff from all over the world, which has been very interesting.

What are the biggest changes you’ve seen during your time at MCLS?

The degree to which technology has increased information access to everyone anywhere at any time. I’ve been hanging out in “library land” since the days of hand-typed 3×5 catalog cards, so these changes are just amazing.  Watching MeLCat and mel.org grow and develop has been great, too.

I have also been saddened by the loss of so many K-12 school librarians.  Children learn more and have a broadened outlook when they have a librarian available to help them.

There has also been a big “turning out” with the focus becoming much more on the user’s needs and experiences.

What do you plan to do?

I’m really looking forward to having a flexible schedule and not always wake up to an alarm clock.

I plan to “weed” my house, learn to play guitar, train with my dog for some canine sports, travel, tinker with a variety of crafts, and spend more time with family and friends.  And what librarian would not say read more books?  I have a long list!

Is there anything you want to add?

To the MCLS staff – thank you for all your help and support over the years.

To everyone in the “trenches of library land” – keep up the good fight.