Meet Middleburg: Sheila Whetzel, librarian
By Kerry Dale
She’s not your stereotypical “shushing” librarian. In fact, Sheila Whetzel welcomes both the chatter and bustle of the preschoolers for story time and the quiet afternoons of the more mature patrons.
“I have had the occasional person ask me if I would quiet someone, but the library is a community space and so people meet and talk,” said Whetzel. “Ironically, it’s the moms at the children’s programs that make the most noise. The challenge for the storyteller is to engage the parents so they don’t talk louder than the program.”
Everyone who knows Whetzel will tell you that she’s kind and helpful and always positive. It was her love of all ages and people from different backgrounds that led her to become a community public librarian. She had considered being a social worker, but realized early on that she simply wasn’ttough enough for that job.
Getting to know the people, young and old, is her favorite part of her job. “It’s fun to see children all grown up,” said Whetzel.
Recently, one of the very first patrons of the new building from 27 years ago stopped by the library with his wife. “He’s moving to New Zealand and is doing his doctoral work there. He couldn’t believe that I recognized him.”
She enjoys the older patrons just as much. “The sad part is getting to know older people over the years, then suddenly you stop seeing them,” she said. “And then they’re gone.”
Whetzel took her first job with Middleburg Library in 1988 and has overseen the facility moving from the basement where the police station is now to the beautiful building on Reed Street, where it has grown from a single room to several areas, including a community room, and doubled in square footage. Her career has spanned from card files to computers, encyclopedias to Google.
Getting to know the people, young and old, is her favorite part of her job.
She has witnessed a complete transformation of accessible information and the way libraries operate and has watched the patronage of the library diminish as a result. “I do wish more people would enjoy the facility,” she said.
With Whetzel at the helm, there’s more to a visit to the local library than simply checking out a book. “The thing about the library is that no one feels anonymous,” said Whetzel. “Someone always knows you here. It’s a real community.’
When Whetzel isn’t serving the public at the library, she likes to read, spend time with her husband, Steve, at their Middleburg home and visit her daughter, Ashley, in Alexandria. ML