Des Plaines woman known for her contributions to the library

Eight years ago, hundreds of Des Plaines residents formed a line that snaked its way from the city's old public library to its new location on Ellinwood Avenue.

One by one, they handed off books from the library's collection, from one patron to the next.

Barbara Ann Saletnik, the library's assistant head of circulation and coordinator of its move, was the last person in the chain before the books reached their new, state-of-the-art home.

Involving hundreds of library patrons in the move was largely ceremonial, library officials say, but Mrs. Saletnik's role as a focal point in the assembly line was real.

"She handled all of the details of our move, and it was incredibly complicated," says Sandra Norlin, library director.

Library officials now are mourning Mrs. Saletnik's passing. She died Sunday after a long battle with cholangiocarcinoma, the same rare liver disease that claimed the life of Walter Payton.

Mrs. Saletnik, a 42-year resident of Des Plaines, was 58.

In all, Mrs. Saletnik spent 18 years working at the Des Plaines Public Library, starting as a page shelving books when her two children reached school age.

"She had spent a lot of time taking the children to the library when they were young, and she got to know the people there," says her husband, Paul, a Des Plaines Zoning Board of Appeals Commissioner and a co-founder of The Des Plaines Theater Preservation Society.

Mrs. Saletnik moved to a full-time position in 1995, and within three years she had risen to her current position, helping to oversee the circulation department of one of the state's busiest libraries.

Officials say the library draws 1,500 patrons a day, and has an annual circulation of more than one million from the 245,000 items in its collection.

"Barbara was wonderful to work with," Norlin says. "She was very conscientious and loved to take on big projects. But she was also very warm, kind and soft-spoken."

Another of Mrs. Saletnik's interests was gardening, and by extension, flower arranging. At the library's annual fundraiser, "Do the Dewey," she led a crew of volunteers in arranging food donated from area restaurants on serving platters, while also displaying the flower arrangements for the event.

"She worked with volunteers from the library staff and from the (Maine West High School) Key Club to present donations from about 30 area restaurants," Norlin adds. "She made it look like it was catered."

Mrs. Saletnik worked at the library through the end of July, before leaving for a long-anticipated vacation at Disney World with her husband and their two children. However, in the middle of the trip, she became too ill to continue and had to be transported home by an air ambulance service on board a Lear jet.

Besides her husband, Mrs. Saletnik is survived by her daughter Jessica and son Josh.

Visitation will take place from 3-9 p.m. today at Oehler Funeral Home, 2099 Miner St., before a 10 a.m. funeral Mass on Friday at St. Mary Church, 794 Pearson St., both in Des Plaines.