New Manager, Librarian On Job At East Side Library

The opening of a new Indian Trail branch library last week meant the juggling of several public library employees.

It also meant a few new faces at the East Side Branch Library, 524 S. Stone, in the East Central neighborhood.

Merri Hartse took over as the new branch manager of the library Jan. 12 of this year. She succeeded Claire Steigleder, who moved to Indian Trail.

“It’s been absolutely wonderful so far,” she said. “It’s a great community to be in.

“The people really appreciate this library. They spend a lot of time here.”

Hartse last worked at Gonzaga University, beginning in 1994 as public services librarian.

A graduate of the University of Denver’s School of Librarianship and Information Management, she has also worked as a librarian at the University of Illinois at Champaign Urbana, the University of Arizona, the University of Nebraska at Omaha and as a librarian at the Hocking Correctional Facility in Nelsonville, Ohio.

“That was the hardest job I ever did,” she said. “I couldn’t ever leave the job when I went home at night. The needs were just so intense.”

Hartse applied for the East Side job because she said she wanted to get back to working with the public.

“I’m really enjoying it,” she said. “There’s a certain warmth to this community.”

Jennifer Meyer, as children’s librarian, also is a recent addition to the East Side branch. She succeeds Jill Young, who also moved on to the Indian Trail branch.

Meyer works on the library’s children’s programs and outreach services.

She holds a Master of Library Science degree from Syracuse University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. She comes from Eastern Oregon University in La Grande, where she worked as electronic resources librarian.

The East Side branch opened in December 1995 as part of a 1990 bond issue that funded construction of six new libraries.

, DataTimes