WiLS August 2014 Member Interview: Marla Sepnafski, Director, Wisconsin Valley Library Service

One of our greatest joys at WiLS is hearing our members tell the stories of the big and important work they are doing – interesting new projects or initiatives, or even interesting and new approaches to old projects.  And, in addition to hearing about it, it makes us even happier when we can share those stories with other members.   Each month, WiLS is proud to feature an interview with one of our library members.  This month, we interview Marla Sepnafski, Director of Wisconsin Valley Library Service.  Also, Marla and WVLS will be hosting one of WiLS’ Regional Meetings, on October 14th; be sure to register!

If you have questions about this interview or want to suggest someone for us to interview, contact Andrea Coffin at .

Why did you, personally, choose to work in libraries?

My initiation into the library field was serendipitous.   While I grew up in a household that used the public library in my community (Wausau, WI) pretty heavily, my initial career choice was to be a teacher, and I pursued degree in education from the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse.

However, following graduation, an unexpected turn of events required me to return to my hometown for a significant period of time.  Unable to relocate, and with no teaching opportunities in my area of expertise available in local and surrounding school districts, I looked for temporary employment.   My mother, who was an administrative assistant to the Director of both the Marathon County Public Library (MCPL) and the Wisconsin Valley Library Service (WVLS), told me of some part time jobs available at each organization.  I applied for one job in each organization, and was lucky to be hired for both.

Those positions, which were mostly clerical in nature, were a godsend, because they exposed me to back end operations and behind-the-scenes conversations, which fostered my awareness of the unique, symbiotic relationship between a public library and a public library system.  Much to my surprise, the work proved to be way more fascinating (and certainly less boring!) than I anticipated.  Based on my mother’s dinner table conversations with the family as I was growing up, I imagined that library work would be relatively structured and quiet and rather “ordinary.” I couldn’t have been more wrong!

Once the doors of the library field opened, I never looked back.  Those initial, very part-time jobs helped me to get a full-time job three months later as a mail clerk for WVLS.  Within a year of that, I was promoted to reference and had the good fortune to work on MCPL’s reference desk and to respond to subject requests from WVLS member libraries.  As I took on new roles and new responsibilities within WVLS, I became less interested in a teaching career and more and more interested in advancing my career in the library field.  Recognizing my potential the WVLS Board of Trustees granted me several educational leaves of absence to complete Masters in Library Science coursework at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  The endorsement from the WVLS Board and support from the WVLS staff, who did their own work as well as mine when I was out of the office, afforded me the opportunity to focus on my studies as needed and to get as much out of my library school experience as possible.

I have worked for WVLS for almost 30 years and in most areas of the operation, and I can say with conviction that helping libraries to better serve their communities is never boring in this fast-paced, technologically driven landscape. And that each day is very different from the day before and from the day following. I love doing what I do, and I am proud of the work libraries and systems do to help create a more informed citizenry and better tomorrow for the people we serve and their communities!

What is unique about the culture of your library?  How do you influence it?

Our culture is one of experimentation and innovation.  As such, it is important to the success of our operations that WVLS hires people who are confident and thoughtful and who are not afraid of making mistakes or taking risks.  It is also necessary to have staff on board who see themselves as lifelong learners and also as a part of a team that selflessly supports change and the pursuit of improving all aspects of our service.

With the right staff in place, it is then my responsibility to ensure they each have the tools and the resources they need to do their jobs well.

What do you think is important to know about the patrons or community you work with?  What helps you understand those needs?

Library systems function by Wisconsin State Statute to provide specific services to libraries in their member counties so WVLS’ “patrons” are the staffs and boards of libraries in our 7-county service area.

The needs of patrons as information consumers are always in a state of flux.  From card catalogs, professional journals and reference books in paper form, to the Internet, online catalogs, apps and the proliferation of content in digital form, libraries are challenged to stay abreast of the myriad ways in which information is shared and received. 

As demands for and availability of information technology increases, and as funding barriers challenge libraries to do more with less, the issues facing library staff and boards can become overwhelming very quickly.  Our role is to assist our member colleagues navigate through these problems, and to adapt and customize our support to meet their unique needs.

In a consortium environment like a library system, open and frequent dialogues with stakeholders and with colleagues in other systems benefits our understanding of the issues facing libraries, and are crucial to problem solving, resource allocation, and strategic short- and long-term planning at the system level.

What big ideas are being worked on at your library?  What problems are being solved?

WVLS recognizes the ongoing need to be proactive and innovative regarding resources and initiatives, especially during this period of uncertainly and shrinking revenue streams, and believes that increased collaboration and cooperation has the potential to reduce redundancy, increase efficiencies and improve services to our member libraries.

We are just wrapping up a year-long investigation on merging the ILS operations/online catalogs of WVLS and two neighboring systems.  While this merger did not receive enough support from member libraries to move it a reality, the feedback and insights from this process will help shape future discussions on mergers, collaboration and cooperation.

Over the next few months, we will be aggressively pursuing procurement of expertise and services from other institutions:  library systems, libraries, CESAs, municipal organizations and academic institutions.

Likewise we plan to open our capital investments to public-private partnerships that help promote our mission.  We will place our infrastructure in such a manner that it can empower other library systems, schools, etc., to do more with less money and expertise. We plan to work with public and private partners to develop this shared infrastructure in a bi-directional, scalable manner that allows institutions to opt in or out with little risk.

Lastly, we will be implementing a digitization service which pools the expertise of public, academic and historical society staff to support member library staff’s efforts to preserve local history resources.

Do you have anything else you’d like to share with us?

Libraries are doing some pretty powerful stuff in their communities and I am honored and thankful to be able to work with passionate system and member library staff and trustees throughout the state to help libraries thrive.