Politics & Government
Meet Urbandale's New LIbrary Director
Julie Wells comes from a smaller, more rural, library, but she wants Urbandale's Library to be a welcoming hub of activity for the city.
Forget quiet and dusty rooms of books and shushing librarians. Julie Wells, Urbandale's new library director, thinks public libraries should be activity hubs for their communities.
“People often think of a library as simply a brick-and-mortar place that houses books, but libraries are so much more than that,” said Wells, who has been on the job for three months. “We have children’s reading programs, summer programs, adult programs, public meeting rooms and much more.”
Wells, 50, directed the Norwalk Easter Public Library for 10 years before taking the Urbandale job. Norwalk's library is about half the size of , but much of the director's job is similar, said Wells, who has a master's degree in library science.
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“Of course, the building is larger, the circulation is larger, there are more employees, but the day-to-day work is much the same,” she said.
Kris Winter, vice president of the Urbandale Library Board, said board members are confident that Wells brings great experience, skills and leadership to the city.
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“We need someone who had the great experience, but also someone who could look to the future and we feel Julie will do that,” Winter said.
Wells replaces Katherine Manion, who resigned last December and left in March. The library was directed by two employees for about two months until Wells started in June.
A facilities management plan is in the works at the request of the library board. The plan will include repairs to the roof and a regular building maintenance schedule. Even though there is some work to be done, Wells described the library as a beautiful facility with a very good staff.
Wells also wants to provide more room for a teen area. “We want to make it their space, something more just their own,” she said.
Another challenge will be keeping up with the public demand for the library's 39 public access computers. Demand for the computers has been increasing and the most current statistics show 67,226 users a year.
“This is a new challenge for me and I’m looking forward to it,” said Wells. “I want people to continue to come into the library and feel connected to the community. I think a library should be a very welcoming place to whoever wants to use it.”