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Saint Paul Public Library, Saint Paul, Minnesota

Left to right: Mary Chute, Acting Director, Institute of Museum and Library Services; Kathleen Flynn, Saint Paul Public Library Director; Urban Library Program participant and library science Masters student Regina Harris; First Lady Laura Bush. Photo by Steven E. Purcell. Click image for a larger version.

Minnesota’s Saint Paul Public Library has never been more valuable to the residents of the Twin City metro area. The library and its Friends group have garnered unprecedented public and private support for new facilities and for targeted outreach to people from all walks of life. In partnership with the Friends group, the Saint Paul Library has invested in a diverse array of community partnerships. The result is a system that delivers more books and materials (a 50 percent increase in the last five years), has more on-site visitors (a 31 percent increase in visitation), receives thousands more Web site hits, and has more Saint Paulites opening a book for fun and learning.

Regina Harris decided to make a career of library service and is earning a Masters in Library Science degree while working at the Saint Paul Public Library. The graduate student represents just one of the many young people who have found direction through the Library’s Urban Library Program, a certificate degree program designed to attract diverse recruits to the field of librarianship. She will accept the award alongside Saint Paul Public Library Director Kathleen Flynn and Saint Paul Public Library Administration Services Manager Debbie Willms.

Biographies of Participants

Regina Harris, Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Masters Degree Student
Twenty-five year-old Regina Harris was the first of her family to earn a university degree. She attended the University of Minnesota on an academic scholarship and decided to study journalism. Her job search after graduation, however, disappointed her at every turn. In early 2004, she heard a presentation at church about a new ten-month certificate program, a partnership between the Saint Paul Public Library and the College of Saint Catherine, to prepare individuals for a career as a library paraprofessional. The information resonated with Ms. Harris, and she was accepted in the first class of the Urban Library Program. With Spanish-language skills and library work experience, Ms. Harris was hired by the Saint Paul Public Library. Today she is in a Master of Library Science program, on a Spectrum Scholarship from the American Library Association, which is funded through the Institute of Museum and Library Services’ Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian program.

Ms. Harris sees many similarities between librarians and journalists—both professions require research, finding information, answering the question, reporting the answer, and working with people. But unlike journalism with its hectic deadlines, librarianship offers her more time for research and allows her to delve deeper into information. These are the aspects of her new career that she finds most enjoyable.

Kathleen Flynn, Director
Kathleen Flynn has worked for the Saint Paul Public Library for 34 years. She graduated from the University of Delaware and earned her MLS at Pratt Institute. She has been serving as Interim Director since March 2005. She has two sons, Daniel and Colin Markowitz. She is very proud to accept this prestigious award in honor of Carole Williams, a former director now deceased, whose vision and efforts laid the foundation for the library’s current community outreach programs.

Debbie Willms, Administration Services Manager
Debbie Willms has worked at the Saint Paul Public Library for 26 years, most recently specializing in staff development and organizational design. She is co-creator of the Urban Library Program, a collaborative project with the College of Saint Catherine funded by IMLS, to recruit, educate and hire a diverse workforce for the twenty-first century.