New library director making tweaks

SANDUSKY — If a big guy with a beard checks out your book at Sandusky Library's circulation desk or answers your question at the reference desk, it might be its new leader. The library's new director, William Rutger, will be stationing himself at various public service spots in the library building, 114 W. Adams St., during December to get a better idea of how the library works and to make himself available to meet library patrons. Rutger, 45, took over as the new executive director on Sept. 15. The library has a history of continuity. It has had just three directors for about the past 40 years: • Julie Brooks, who presided over the library's expansion • Molly Carver, who retired this year after 10 years as the director • And now Rutger Rutger hasn't made a bunch of big changes. Hours and policies at the library remain the same. But he has begun making some tweaks. What are the changes? The programs room, where meetings and presentations take place, is getting an upgrade in audio and visual equipment, so that programs there can be streamed and recorded, making the room more useful to local organizations who might want to use it. Rutger says library patrons looking for books tend to fall into two categories: hunters and gatherers. The hunters are the people who search the Sandusky Library catalog, using either a computer or their phone app. Sandusky is part of CLEVNET, a library consortium that includes many northern Ohio libraries, so the hunters can pick from a big collection of materials. If the book or movie they want isn't in Sandusky, they can have the item sent here for pickup. Rutger said he plans to keep Sandusky Library in CLEVNET. Smaller libraries especially benefit from the big CLEVNET collection, he said. It's good that people who use the Kelleys Island library branch can get all of those materials, he noted. Gatherers, on the other hand, like to come inside the building and browse what's available on the shelves. Rutger is making changes to make life easier for the browsers. While there will still be a general fiction section, popular genres, such as mysteries and science fiction, will have separate sections, making browsing easier for mystery addicts and science fiction fans. Rutger is also assembling a browsing collection, making it easy for patrons to look through new book titles. An upgrade is in the works for the book collection. The nonfiction books have been weeded out, creating space so that the library can refresh its nonfiction area. Many nonfiction topics can get old quickly, so it's time to get new titles, Rutger said. The library also plans to soon begin experimenting with lockers that will allow patrons to pick up books and other library materials 24 hours a day, in locations such as Perkins Township, Margaretta Township and Kelleys Island. And finally, Sandusky Library is looking to become a "library of things," allowing patrons to check out items that aren't traditionally offered at libraries. That's become a recent library trend. The Vermilion library, for example, lets patrons check out fishing equipment. Rutger's last library as a director, in Avon Lake, let patrons check out acoustic and electric guitars, including amps, and ukuleles and also allows bikes to be checked out. The Sandusky Library's staff needs to figure out what should be offered there, Rutger said. One idea that's being considered is letting birdwatchers check out binoculars. Rutger said the library has 30 employees and a budget of a little more than $4 million. The library gets 51% of its money from the state and is also supported by a local levy. While the Ohio General Assembly was not particularly generous to libraries in its new budget, the Sandusky Library is in good shape financially, Rutger said, and there are no immediate plans to seek a new levy. A local connection Rutger's new job is a homecoming. He is an Erie County native: His mother is Mona Rutger, the Back to the Wild founder. One of his first jobs as a 16-year-old was shelving books at Sandusky Library. Rutger eventually got interested in making libraries a career. He attended Bowling Green State University and obtained his master's in library science from Wayne State. He began his career working in academic libraries but switched to running public libraries, working at the Milan-Berlin Heights, Ashland and Avon Lake libraries before coming to Sandusky. Rutger said he has enjoyed working in a community where he grew up. He said he sometimes goes to functions and runs into classmates he hasn't seen in many years. "Sandusky Library shaped who I am, and now I have the privilege to give back," Rutger said. "I'm committed to building on its legacy by creating a welcoming destination that sparks curiosity, strengthens connections and ignites community pride."