Meredith Scherb, believes that collaboration and change are hallmarks of librarianship. Thanks to her University of Iowa Graduate education, Scherb exhibits this mindset as Director of the Atlantic Public Library in Atlantic, Iowa.
The Spencer, Iowa native has a job full of opportunity and responsibility, and the collaborative nature of the UI School of Library and Information Science prepared her for this professional challenge.
“Throughout graduate school, whether specifically for a group project or just to bounce ideas off each other, we were always working together,” Scherb says. “This holds true in the professional library setting as well. Librarians are always collaborating—sharing ideas and resources and offering and receiving help.”
Libraries in small towns are information lifelines for residents. Librarians in communities like Atlantic provide an ever-expanding set of services, including access to the Internet and multimedia tools, job searches, and youth programs. Due to her UI training, Scherb’s librarianship will continue to help the community in Atlantic flourish.
“There is change in libraries, and that was emphasized constantly in my classes at the University of Iowa,” Scherb says. “With technology, librarianship has been transformed, and librarians have to be willing to adapt and try new things in order to stay relevant to our communities.”
Scherb’s skill set includes administration, programming, technology, public relations, personnel, and collection development. While only four months into the job, she has already helped the Atlantic Public Library secure a $1,000 grant from the Cass County Community Foundation to digitize Atlantic newspapers.
This is your Hometown Hawkeye.