Bullock appointed library director

Following a recommendation from the Library of Graham Advisory Board, DeAnna Bullock was appointed as director of the Library of Graham by the Graham City Council this week. Bullock will move from an interim role to the permanent position overseeing the facility.

Bullock began working at the library in early 2022 after working on a contract basis doing various projects while utilizing the library for her son’s tutoring. When former director Kelly LaFarge was appointed in February to replace Sherrie Gibson, Bullock saw new positions open at the library.

“I started working part time in the back, acquiring books, processing things, figuring out how to do the database system where we do all of our online cataloging, and figuring out the Dewey system,” she said. “When Kelly resigned and moved on (in August) then they asked me to be the interim, and here I am.”

Stepping into the permanent position will allow Bullock to look at the library’s policies and have the authority to make decisions she could not in the interim role.

“As an interim you're here to kind of (keep) the status quo, make sure everything's running, making sure the bills get paid, that payroll is done (and) those types of things,” she said. “You're not really doing a lot of adding anything new, changing something or going into the next evolution of how libraries operate.”

Bullock said she will maintain the positive changes made by LaFarge to the facility.

“She did a lot of good things for this library, like reevaluating and reorganizing books, which a lot of libraries have gone to this system,” she said. “It's set up by genre so it's like if you're going to shop for a book in a bookstore. …There are some people that all they do is read historical fiction, or they prefer Christian fiction, clean fiction. So now we can show them where their section is.”

Another change that the former director made that has made an impact is making the children’s section of the library more self-contained.

“Now all the juvenile nonfiction is grouped together on that one side where the children's area is so they can find the books,” Bullock said. “We went from 2,000 checkouts to 6,000 checkouts after we reorganized the juvenile nonfiction. So that was obviously a good move. Kids love to browse their favorite topics or learn new (topics). Browsing different topics is how you learn.”

Throughout the year the library hosts groups and clubs in its public meeting room. Bullock hopes to upgrade the facility and add more options for community use.

“So you can have a Zoom meetings (and) you can conference somebody in. ...Just some upgrades (like) hanging the big Smart TV so people can run their devices through it and do presentations in a modern style,” she said.

The new director said she would also like to incorporate an oral storyteller program within the library.

With nearly 70,000 volumes of books, audio books, eBooks, audiobooks and magazines, the library serves as a necessary source of information in the community.

Bullock said the library also provides necessary services such as free Wi-Fi, use of a printer and copier and just a place for those that need one.

“We have a few people that never check out books, but we keep them behind the desk because they just want to read the book while they're waiting for their loved ones who's in chemo or dialysis,” she said. “They just come here and hang out when they're in-between because they can't go where their loved one is getting treatment, but they've got nowhere else to be. They live out of town. They need to be handy so they come here and they read.”

The new director said she likes that the facility is utilized as a community center and loves to provide opportunities for lifelong learning.
“I keep saying it's a library for all and truly mean that. It's for everybody,” she said. “It's for all different walks of life and the different people that represent our community.”
Bullock said the library serves as a resource center for those in the community who might not have the resources available.
With 125-150 people walking between the shelves of the facility each day, the new director has seen changes within the community.
"I think it's evolving a lot. I think we're in a period of significant change and shift for the better (in Graham),” she said. “There's a lot of economic activity that we haven't seen in a very long time. Being here at the library... I see every day, people that are moving here, or retiring here, because they like it.”