We Will Miss You Laura!

Once upon a time I met a librarian at a workshop I was giving at the Brewster Ladies Library for the Southeastern Massachusetts Library System. Little did I know that the workshop would end up with my being introduced to Laura Ford, who eventually became the Head of the Children’s Department at FPL.  But let me just take a step back, because before she became the Head of the Children’s Department, I hired her as a part-time reference librarian! Thus I had the pleasure of working with her in that capacity for a few years, and one of the things I most loved about working with Laura, was she was the best reader’s advisory librarian I ever had. In fact, she recommended all kinds of books that I added to my staff picks over the years. 

Once Laura made the move to the Children’s Department she created all kinds of enchantment for children, and adults too! I remember one day she showed me how to make a fairy out of a clothespin. When our building was shut down, but we were still working in the building, Laura was a great sport when I asked her to pose with a pink elephant named Elly! As the Head of Adult Services and Reference, I was always delighted to find some fun project going on in the children’s room, and sometimes beyond the children’s room. Here are two turkeys I saw one day hanging around the library.

One of the most spectacular events that Laura and I worked on together was the night we had twelve kids in the library after hours. They had all entered a contest created around the book Escape From Mr. Lemoncello’s Library by Chris Grabenstein, and the prize was getting to spend time in the library after it closed. What great fun it was! Here are all the kids with Chris Grabenstein himself! Laura even convinced her own husband to take part in the scavenger hunt festivities! And here is one of my favorite photos of Laura, taken on a very fun day when Mo Willems came to FPL!

This is only a small sampling of the fun I’ve had with Laura, and I know that our loss is a gain for the Plymouth Public Library, but we will miss her so much! I am guessing she will not miss her commute across the bridge every day, but she will miss having all that time to listen to books on CD. Wishing Miss Laura (as she was known in the children’s room) all the best as she begins her new adventure.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.