Fairfax Community Librarian retires after 34 years
By Lisa M. Boucher - St. Messenger Correspondent
FAIRFAX—In 1972 it only took reading 100 books (the number currently in the Fairfax Free Library at the time) to become the town librarian according to Sharon Horr, the woman who got the job. After 34 years of service and many changes later, she is officially retiring from the post Aug. 26.
The little 100 book library occupied a small room behind the town clerk’s office, which was once located in the front corner of Bellows Free Academy’s old section. The school library had a small room upstairs in the same section of the school.
“The board was in need of a new librarian and since my name was on every book in the library (all 100 of them), it was decided that I would be the new librarian,” Horr said, of how it was explained to her by then library trustee, Louise McArdle. “So began my long career as the town librarian.”
Two years later when expecting her third child, Horr resigned as town librarian to take care of her family. During her hiatus, the little library received a $25,000 grant from the Department of Libraries in 1973 to combine both the school and town libraries into the Fairfax Community Library.
BFA saw the first of several (future) expansions in 1973 and was under construction at that time. The new Fairfax Community Library was given a (seemingly) huge space located between the old and new sections of the school.
Surprisingly, the new library had a large main hallway through the middle of it, connecting the old school with the new part—quite impossible to keep a library quiet with students traveling through it all day long.
Regardless of the distracting, if not questionable arrangement, it was clearly an exciting time for the library to have this space and be able to order new books for the town and school.
“We had kids clomping down the hall or tracking in mud,” Horr said of the oddly-designed new library space and added with pride, “We went from a room behind the town clerk’s office to being the first in the state to combine with the school and the only combined library in a pre-K thru 12 school.”
Horr returned as librarian to the new Fairfax Community Library in 1978 about the same time Joy LeBaron was hired as the school librarian and for the next two decades plus the pair worked in tandem to create a library that encouraged lifelong learning and reading, by servicing a multitude of needs of the town and school.
In 1990, the school saw its second expansion that directly affected the library space when a second floor was built above the library for the growing middle school. Half of the library's books were put in storage in the Red Barn in Georgia. The construction took about a year to complete and during that time the library was housed in "The Dungeon" which was in the basement of the old section of the school. (And had likely been the bomb shelter of the 1940’s era)
“A dragon was painted on the wall in the hallway going into the library, which is why it was nicknamed "The Dungeon," said Horr. “The library was located next to the old coal bin where it was very damp, so damp that frogs lived there along with a mouse or two. There were many lunch hours where a mouse would sit and watch us (Horr and LeBaron) eat.”
The long dank year in the dungeon decreased patronage traffic somewhat; however, the end result was worth the wait. The Fairfax Community Library again, had a new larger space, this time completely enclosed and separated from the main hall connecting the old and new schools. Horr and LeBaron had the freedom to design the library to their vision.
“Joy and I designed the space,” said Horr pointing out different spots in the library, such as the rocking chair reading area. “We placed the shelves on an angle so we could see what the students were doing.”
While the pair were a dynamic duo for nearly 30 years as the community and school librarians and brought the library a long way from its humble beginnings, before LeBaron retired several years ago and Joy Mercer took her place, Horr has programs that are unique to times that she is alone at the helm—summer.
The summer reading programs are huge at the library thanks largely to the efforts of Horr.
It began back in the late 90’s when Gadue’s dry cleaning started a mountain-bike give- away for reading books in the summer.
“We were the first library outside of Chittenden County allowed to get involved,” said Horr of how that program began at the library. “Fairfax kids won that year and kept winning every year. People were complaining.”
Eventually Gadue’s decided to stop the bike give away and according to Horr; the kids’ in Fairfax were very disappointed not to have the reading challenge for a bike. So she went to work finding money to get a couple of mountain bikes, contacted Earl’s Cyclery in So. Burlington and was able to cut a deal for the Jr. Readers of Fairfax. The Read to Ride summer program is one of the most popular summer reading programs and is still going strong.
“Earl’s has been very generous with us over the years,” said Horr. “I’m proud of the summer reading program.”
Horr is just proud of this little Community Library period, as well she should be. It has been listed as a the top 10 library in the country for populations under 5000 three different times (2000, 2007, 2010) and was rated a four star library by the Library Journal in 2009 (a prestigious trade publication)
As the town librarian, Horr has had a hand in garnering over $500,000 in grants for the library since 1978, the largest being $141,000 from the Vermont Library Fund. In that time the number of books has grown from 9,640 to 42,659.
Horr said she is going to miss the kids, the books, and the people and relayed a fond memory of the essence that is the community.
“Every week, Pepe’ LeClaire would walk over from the senior housing across the road when his grandson was here,” said Horr. “He’d listen to the story, and then walk his grandson to lunch. He’d say ‘that was a good story,’ when it was over.”
Horr has been in place long enough to see a second generation of kids pass through the library, the kids whose parents she knew as kids. She has also seen many changes take place in the library.
She considers the many electronics changes during her tenure from one computer in 1982 in the Audio-Visual room to a dozen clustered in the library today with internet access. Cell phones, iPods, the new digital voice books the library has, as well as the electronic Kindle device on the market, and so on.
“In the end, people still just want to have that book in their hand,” said Horr shrugging off the notion that books as we know them would ever go out of style.
Sharon is shown speaking with Marnie (Kneeland) Oakes who called to congratulate her on her retirement at her recent retirement party in the above photo.
