A Q&A with retiring Glenview Library director Vickie Novak
Tuesday will be Vickie Novak's final day as director of the Glenview Public Library.
We asked her to share a few thoughts about the library before she begins her retirement.
The following interview has been edited for clarity.
Q: What does it mean to you to be sending the library into its centennial decade?
A: Actually it's something that's very special for me because I was here when the library celebrated its 75th anniversary, at which time we were trying to get approval for a new Glenview Public Library, which of course we subsequently have.
In addition to our 90th anniversary, we are also celebrating our 10th anniversary in the new building in October of this year. It just seems kind of a fitting way to start the centennial decade.
Q: Why are you retiring?
A: Libraries are my passion, they always have been, they continue to be. But when one reaches a certain age it's just what one does.
This seemed like a good time to transition, starting the next decade of library service. These new projects will be finished and my successor can come in and continue where we've set the stage. (An executive search should select a candidate within the next few weeks, she said.)
Q: What's your favorite accomplishment at Glenview Public Library?
A: Without a doubt, the new building is my favorite accomplishment and my finest memory.
It's not a single day, it's not a single event, it's a process that took several years.
Certainly I think the culmination of all of that was the day that we had the grand opening, which was October 2010.
Saturday afternoon, nice weather outside, competing with sports and other events that are going on at the community and in the schools, we thought we might get maybe 400, 500 people that would show up for a dedication.
We had 6,000 people in five hours, and that to me was the biggest compliment that the community could have ever paid us.
I will never forget that. We have a gate counter, so we knew that those were accurate numbers. Needless to say we ran out of refreshments early on, but the people kept coming. It was a phenomenal memory.
Q: What are your favorite parts of the job?
A: I can't really choose one. I love the diversity of the job. It gives me the chance to meet with people in the community and to foster partnerships with businesses and other governmental agencies.
I also love working with the staff and the library manager, working on new programs and new ideas, and brainstorming. What are we doing for a strategic plan? Where are we going from here?
I can't really pick one aspect. Obviously I've made this my career all of my life, there are just a lot of things about libraries that I find very attractive.
Q: What is something people may not know about you?
A: I have been a lifelong equestrienne, from the time I was old enough to say “horse.”
I've ridden since I was a very young child, and I ride and compete with my horses over the years. That's my passion, that's what I do when I'm not living in the library world.
Q: Your tenure with Glenview Public Library was the longest of your career. What was the appeal?
A: Glenview has been a phenomenal situation I think from the moment I walked into it.
I love challenge, and my challenge when I was hired was to build a new library. Eighteen years ago, that started out with acquiring a site because they didn't have a site; arranging for the funding; working with architects designers and library planners to determine appropriate square footage, styles, designs, services.
Coincidentally, I built a building at all three of my positions, so library architecture is something that I'm very fond of and I also have an ability, an experience with.
When we came to Glenview, the board had been trying to get a new library and we said, ‘OK, we're going to get this done,' and we did. It's an opportunity that offers continual growth and continual challenge.
It was never dull. It was a great work environment, a fabulous community, good staff, wonderful board. It's a good situation. It makes me sad to go, it really does.
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