Delaware County District Library: Bowers takes leading role at new Liberty Branch
For Shari Bowers, the word “public” in “public library” is as important as the word “library.”
Bowers was named the manager of the Delaware County District Library’s new Liberty Branch earlier this year. She’s been on the job for about two weeks, getting a lay of the land and beginning to create a timeline for building a staff and programming at the new library, tentatively set to open in late September, according to library spokesperson Nicole Fowles.
“Libraries belong to the public,” Bowers said. “Think of all the things (libraries) offer, all the programs and services, from birth to older adults. We’re also a community center, whether you need a meeting room or some other public space, or whether you’re attending a program and maybe see a person you know that you haven’t seen in a while. That’s a way we connect people.”
Bowers joins the Delaware County District Library after working as an adult services manager in the Ritter Public Library in northern Ohio and as a former branch library manager with the Dayton Metro Library system.
She has family living in Powell, so she’s familiar with the area. “I’ve been visiting and watching the changes in the area for the last 22 years,” Bowers said. “This is really a great opportunity.”
Bowers said she’s looking forward to the opportunity to assemble a staff. “There’s already a great team here and I get to work with them to create another great team for the new location,” she said.
“I’ve always enjoyed that process, and tried to create a culture to empower staff to reach their fullest potential.”
Part of that potential is creating programming, Bowers said. “There are things I’ve done in the past that have worked, but there are so many good ideas already being done here systemwide, and I’m sure our staffers will have a hand in developing programming as well.”
Bowers balked at picking a favorite kind of book to read, offering that she enjoys both fiction and nonfiction, although she does tend to “stick with one particular genre for a while before moving on.”
She recommended “The Mountains Sing,” by Nguyên Phan Qué Mai, which was, among other accolades, a runner-up for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize in Fiction. The book examines recent history in Vietnam, including the military conflict there, from the perspective of a Vietnamese family, Bowers said.
The new branch, at the corner of Home and Steitz roads in Liberty Township, is to be the library system’s fifth in the county. The library is scheduled to hold a hiring event from 1 to 5 p.m. June 23 at Liberty Township Hall.
The cost of construction, including the land purchase, is to be just above $14 million, according to George Needham, library director, with all costs associated with the construction funded by the 2018 renewal of the library levy.
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