Posted August 14, 2009

The West Seventh Library is gaining the experience and expertise of three local St. Paul Public Library employees. Lisa Hage will be the face behind the desk as branch supervisor, responsible for day-to-day operations, volunteer scheduling and coordination, outreach activities and cooperation with the Community Center. János McGhie (of Irish/Hungarian heritage spearheads the computer lab, and Margo Bock is hard at work on

Lisa Hage recently joined the West 7th Library as branch supervisor.

the reprogramming of the library space.

If you’ve been to the Library since July 6, you have probably met Lisa Hage. Like her predecessor John Ohr, Lisa is excited about being in such an active, library-friendly neighborhood. Lisa grew up in South Dakota, went to school at the University of Alaska and worked for 20 years at the Library in New London, Minnesota, so she is looking forward to the small town feel our cozy library offers.

Gardening is one of Lisa’s passions. She brings beautiful flowers from her garden for the library desk. She says, “Gardening is less expensive than therapy. I know lots of patrons will enjoy exchanging gardening tips along with books.” Lisa reminds people that on the Library website (www.stpaul.lib.mn.us) you can request what you would like to see on the shelves and be first on the list to get it. She would love to hear your ideas.

Lisa is excited about all the people she has met and the special feeling people have for the Library. She is happy to see families reading together and hopes to make more cozy spaces for them. You will be hearing more about the library reprogramming project in the coming months. In cooperation with the Community Center, plans are being made to reconfigure and expand the space available for the library. Architectural drawings are complete, and the expansion promises a welcoming environment, new computer workstations and some elbow room!

Others on the Team

That’s where János and Margo come in.

János McGhie worked at Hayden Heights Library with Lisa. One of his areas of expertise is computers, and he has lots of exciting ideas for computer classes, anywhere from basic skills to how to create a blog or Facebook page, use e-Bay or write for Wikipedia. This should be a good draw for all ages, which is what Margo was thinking when she and the Leadership Academy looked at West Seventh.

As an artist, Margo Bock has an eye for space. Moving to St Paul, after completing her art degree at Moorhead, Margo was a member of the Library System’s inaugural Leadership Academy. A program created by the former director, Melanie Huggins, and former West Seventh Area Supervisor, Debbie Willms, the Leadership Academy is a year long program in which participants learn from the experience of featured speakers and use their expertise on group projects.

The project of Margo and three other Academy members, is the West Seventh Branch Library. She is heartened by how integral the library is to the community. She sees many ways to enhance collaboration with the Community Center. She especially sees the computer lab as a place for cross-generational interaction, a place for seniors and teens to learn together.

Pat Gerlach, Area Librarian and Lisa’s supervisor, said, “This is a wonderful opportunity to reprogram the West Seventh Library in collaboration with the local neighborhood and the West Seventh Community Center. We’re all excited about our Library’s future and working with our new team."