The saying, “not all heroes wear capes” is so true when it comes to people who contribute and give back to their community.
Whether it’s a teacher who inspires students to be their best, a kid who shovels the driveway for their elderly neighbors or a company that donates services, time and products to the community, there’s no shortage of local heroes in our community.
MyWindsor’s Hometown Hero feature is a way to recognize and thank the people and companies who strive to make our community better through their time, talents, generosity and kindness.
Do you know a person, business or organization that would make a great story for the Hometown Hero feature? Then send their name and contact information to Tamara Markard at tmarkard@greeleytribune.com .
Staying in line with this month’s theme honoring the Clearview Library District, Hometown Hero is highlighting Mobile Services Assistant Christy Olson.
Olson has worked for the Clearview Library District for over six years, first as a part-time employee and most recently signing on as a full-time staff member at the Windsor-Severance Library.
“I was so surprised to be chosen for this because there’s so many people that work here who are dedicated and creative,” Olson said, laughing.
In her role as a mobile services assistant, Olson works with the library’s bookmobile, providing outreach programs and taking the library out to the community.
“I provide preschool storytimes at the schools and I do after school neighborhood stops with the bookmobile. And we go to neighborhood parks in the evenings,” Olson explained. “I feel like I have one of the coolest jobs out there.”
If you’ve never visited the bookmobile, it’s basically a library on wheels with books for all ages, games, movies, music CDs and more. You can also get a library card while visiting Olson and the bookmobile.
“So we have a little bit of everything that the library offers, only in a smaller capacity. We have a teen area and a craft area,” she said. “Plus, people can request things be put on the bookmobile in the event they can’t make it over to the library. They will request it and we will take it to their stop.”
A new feature to the bookmobile is the addition of public Wi-Fi. Folks needing to check an email or surf the internet can come out to one of the bookmobile’s scheduled stops, log in to the Wi-Fi and do what they need to do.
As the mobile services assistant, Olson is also in charge of driving the bookmobile to its scheduled stops. Since the bookmobile is a revamped school bus and allows only the driver and one passenger to ride in it, drivers of the bookmobile don’t need a special commercial driver’s license to man the bus.
“I love it! I’ve always liked to drive so I find it really fun,” Olson said. “It’s not as hard to drive as people think it would be.I feel like a celebrity, waving to people everywhere I go. I get to drive it in parades sometimes, so that really fun.
Inside the library, Olson heads two virtual book clubs as well as the in-person Babies with Books and Storytime with American Sign Language programs.
“About five years ago the library allowed me to start taking classes for ASL.Teachers use ASL a lot for many reasons and it’s a really valuable tool,” Olson said. “From there I’ve taken it further and further. Learning it was harder than I expected. It’s a visual language and it’s subject based. But I really enjoy it.”
For Olson, being part of the library is more than just driving around a bus full of books. Libraries are a vital part of the community.
“The value of libraries to the community and how important they are, I just wanted to be a part of that — and ensure that they stay strong,” Olson said. “Libraries just do so much. The bookmobile now goes to the 55 plus apartments. It’s so important for them to have that connection and I really enjoy stopping there.”
Despite the rise in popularity of electronic and digital books, libraries continue to draw community members of all ages through the doors.
“There’s been a lot of studies that show people still like to have that book in their hand. Library users are still really wanting printed materials,” Olson commented.
Olson got into the library business after returning to the workforce after her children started to get older.
“I’ve always loved libraries and I had an opportunity to do something that I love,” Olson said. “As soon as it popped into my head, I wanted to work in public libraries.”
Before coming aboard the Windsor-Severance Library staff, Olson volunteered at her children’s school library and worked with the High Plains Library District for three years in Greeley.
“Then this job was posted and within two weeks I was like ‘here I am!’ I never thought I would be in outreach; I always imagined working inside the library,” Olson said. “It’s so cool how it worked out because my job changes all of the time and it’s really fun. I get to explore and learn new things.”
This article was originally published in Greeley Tribune