THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 23, 1997 TAG: 9701220148
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY JOAN C. STANUS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 154 lines
MOST ADMINISTRATORS only dream of getting all their initiatives funded.
Not Sally Reed.
She hungers for the challenge.
And, boy, did she get one in August 1995 when she took on the directorship of the Norfolk Public Library System.
Faced with sharp declines in funding during the last decade, the aging library system had been forced to cut back on programming, acquisitions, upgrades in technology and services. As a result, patrons had started flocking to the newer, more advanced systems in Virginia Beach and Chesapeake.
Morale among the remaining staff - pared down to 50 percent of what it had once been - was at an all-time low.
The search for a new director had been going on for more than a year when recruiters approached Reed, then head of public libraries in Ames, Iowa, with the prospect of taking on the Norfolk post.
A sophisticated system integral to a community communications plan, the Ames library program ``had all the bells and whistles,'' Reed said.
But after two years there, Reed, a native of Nebraska, was ready to move on.
``Frankly, it was slightly boring,'' the 43-year-old woman admitted. ``With all our incentives being funded, as director there was not much more to do than getting in the people.''
Anxious for a new challenge, Reed was attracted to the urban environment of Norfolk, the diversity of the community, the larger library system and the commitment of the city leadership to upgrade it.
``The timing was right,'' she said. ``There was a real level of commitment to change here. They wanted someone to really work hard to bring this library around and create a first-class system. They understood you can't be a first-class city without a first-class library system.''
Since arriving, Reed has thrown herself into the task. Now, after 18 months ``consumed by work,'' the director has been instrumental in initiating Sunday openings at downtown's Kirn Memorial library and increased Internet access for patrons throughout the city. She also has begun a successful children's reading initiative and opened dialogue within city government for future expansion.
In fact, she has played a key role in formulating an ambitious master plan for the system, which calls for building within eight years a new central library in downtown and four ``anchor'' libraries to replace four of the 11 branches scattered around the city. With the backing of the library board, she's also asked that the City Council add $1 million a year to the library's budget, now up to about $3.8 million from $3.5 million when she first arrived.
``We're not asking for the moon,'' Reed stressed. ``That would really just bring us up to the national average. Right now, we're at the bottom 25 percent of library funding nationally.
``Let's face it. We are an infrastructure service. And day-to-day service costs money. We're really only asking for a .2 percent increase.
``In years past, the staff has had to spin straw into gold. With these kinds of resources, we can be a great library.''
As computer technology makes libraries more costly to fund, Reed has been vocal about shifting the system's philosophical focus.
``Now we're all things to all people at all locations,'' she said. ``But in recent years, we've had a whole new dimension added to our level of responsibility.
``How about having five locations that are all things to all people and specialize at our other branches . . . and narrowly focus on people who can't get to those anchor sites? If we can consolidate our infrastructure, it will really maximize those dollars we are able to get.''
To get started laying the groundwork for this ``integrated plan,'' Reed is asking for enough money in the next budget cycle to pay for a consultant's report. By the end of 1998, she hopes to have a blueprint ready to present to City Council.
If all goes as planned, construction on the five new buildings should be completed by 2005.
That doesn't necessarily mean they'll be rebuilt in their current locations, however. For example, Reed and members of the library board have already been discussing alternative sites for Kirn, at 301 E. City Hall Ave..
``We need to be downtown . . . we feel strongly about that,'' she said. ``But we don't necessary need to be next to the (MacArthur) mall. One of our key issues to find a site where we'll have enough free adjacent parking.''
Also on her wish list for next fiscal year is funding that she calls ``the bargain of the century.'' Reed is asking for $120,000 to buy a automated, full-service bookmobile to replace the antiquated one the library now operates.
``Think of where we could go,'' she said. ``We could hit every nook and cranny in the city and offer quality service to all kinds of people.''
Although strategic planning for the next century has consumed much of her time during her ``honeymoon'' in Norfolk, Reed sees much that needs to be mended in a system that has been hurting for years.
Specifically, such ``internal issues'' as updating personnel and policy manuals and repairing ``infrastructure that is crumbling'' needs attention, she said.
``It's not as glitzy as strategic planning, but these kinds of things really affect our service,'' she said. ``For so long, the staff has had to do more with less and it took its toll. You get to the point that you're past the fat and into the marrow. We're not doing as good a job as we'd like, and the needs have increased with the technological age.''
Now that the honeymoon has passed, Reed says the toughest job will be motivating the staff to ``keep the faith.''
``Because the city undertook a national search to hire a director, morale really went up,'' she said. ``It sent a huge message to the staff . . . that there was a real commitment to upgrade the libraries. Now after a year, they're not as truly excited as they were . . . but they're still optimistic. It's my job to give them renewed faith.''
Being a cheerleader of sorts for libraries is not much of stretch for this English major-turned-library scientist who yearns to ``make a difference . . . no matter how corny that sounds.'' Reading is a pastime she's always been passionate about, even as a young child.
``One of my strongest memories was when I was about 5 years old and I starting picking out books in the library,'' she recalled. ``When the librarian told me I could take all those books home with me I thought it was a wonderful thing. I knew I was in a great place.''
It was also the place her father worked. Although now retired, he, too, spent his life as a librarian.
``I never consciously aspired to follow in his footsteps,'' said Reed, the middle daughter in a family of three children. ``He loved what he did. He was passionate about it. Somehow, I guess I absorbed that.''
Her mother, now deceased, was a college professor who specialized in American literature and history. For about eight years during the '60s, the family followed her from college to college, while she pursued her advanced education and reared her children. That model of a strong woman pursuing a dream with the packing of her family struck a cord with the daughter.
``I don't think I really got it at the time . . . or appreciated what my mother had done,'' Reed said. ``But I do now.''
Ironically, her own family has followed that model. The wife of an environmental engineer and the mother of two middle school-aged sons, Reed has served as library director in several systems throughout the country during the last 15 years.
``I've got a very adventuresome family,'' she said with a grin. ``They've made a fantastic adjustment here. I waited a whole year for them to realize that they're not in Ames anymore.''
Since both sons are avid soccer players, Reed spends a lot of her free time at the ball field. At home, the family still reads books aloud together most nights. Not surprising, all are avid readers.
It's her family, she admits, who keeps her grounded.
``My New Year's resolution was to keep my work in perspective, to be patient, that I'm not going to wave a magic wand and create a new library system overnight,'' she said. ``Because you can't change everything in a year, you worry that you can keep the momentum going.''
That enthusiasm to continually motivate what she calls ``one of the best staffs I've ever worked with'' drives this director.
``People who stayed with us in the decline are not going anywhere,'' she said. ``They're ready for something wonderful to happen. It's important to keep them enthusiastic.''
For Reed, it's a passion. ILLUSTRATION: [Cover, Color photo]
Sally Reed
Staff photo and cover color photo by LAWRENCE JACKSON
Finding Sally Reed hard at work is a familiar sight around Kirn
Memorial Library.
KEYWORDS: PROFILE INTERVIEW