Outreach coordinator retires

Saying goodbye to the patrons she served will be the hardest thing for Barb Killpack, who recently retired from the Sweetwater County Library.

Killpack started out as an assistant to the homebound and outreach coordinator. She then worked her way up to that coordinator position.

For the past 16 years, Killpack worked for the library full time.

"The hardest thing is going to be missing my people because they are like family," Killpack said.

"Her people," as she called them, are the patrons she would visit and give library supplies to.

The day before Killpack and her assistant deliver the books, dvds, cds or audio books to homebound residents, they go through and pull all of the materials on the list. Currently, Killpack delivers books to 66 people throughout Sweetwater County. She also visits the Golden Hour Senior Center, Deer Trail Assisted Living and Mission at Castle Rock Rehabilitation Center. She and her assistant are also the school librarians for McKinnon Elementary School.

Sometimes Killpack receives a list from those she helps, but most of the time they tell her to just pick something out she knows they will like.

"It all depends on the people," she said.

For most of her patrons, this is one of the only social interactions they have with others during the week. Killpack really gets to know the patrons and their families.

"It's the relationships you develop," she said.

Every once in a while, Killpack will be asked for a specific book, which she will make sure she gets for the patron.

"Anything you can get at the library, we will bring to you," she said.

Some of the residents Killpack visits were not taking the news of her retirement well.

"One literally broke down and cried," she said.

A lot of them call us the "library ladies," but one lady calls Killpack and her assistant "her bookies."

Getting to know the clients on a personal level also has its downside.

"The hardest part is when someone passes," she said.

She gets to know them so well, that when a patron dies, it's like one of her friends died.

After retiring, Killpack looks forward to spending more time with her nine children and 27 grandchildren. She also would like to go back to college and take some classes she always wanted to take, such as art.

Killpack wants to complete a mission for her church and start quilting again. When she is not busy with these things, she wants to make crafts.

"I'm not just going to sit at home," she said.

Killpack got tears in her eyes on her last day as she realized she would no longer be visiting the library as an employee, but as a patron.

"It's been a privilege to serve the community," Killpack said. "I look at it as a privilege, not a job."

Other library system retirees

Carla Perez, the technical services manager, has worked for the library system for 38 years. She is currently the longest-serving employee on staff. In her tenure, she has helped process and catalog hundreds of thousands of materials before they hit the library shelves.

Ellen Newell, White Mountain Library reference librarian and the library's rural branch coordinator, has worked for the library system for 13 years and has worked in all three main libraries. Also an artist, Newell's prints are hanging throughout the library system and in several other Wyoming libraries.