Staci Rubenzer is home again.
Rubenzer grew up in Shawano and graduated from Shawano Community High School. Less than a month ago, she returned home as the director at the Shawano County Library system.
“Walking through the building and remembering going downstairs as a child and knowing where my favorite books were, it felt like where I belonged,” she said of her decision to leave the Green Bay Area Public Schools for the job in Shawano.
Serving as a library media specialist at Green Bay Southwest High School, Rubenzer said leaving Green Bay was a very difficult decision.
“I have turned other offers of public library positions,” she said. “But, meeting this staff, looking at what this opportunity was, it seemed like the right move for me to come home and serve this community.”
Rubenzer succeeds Nancy Bell, who resigned July 3. Bell was director for nearly two years.
“In my career path, I’ve had a deep interest in providing resources and helping people pursue lifelong learning to achieve personal and professional goals,” Rubenzer said.
That career path has taken her from teaching in a public school, working in a public library and serving as a library media specialist.
“Libraries in general serve as the heart and hub of a community. I don’t just say that; I really believe it,” Rubenzer said. “All communities have the opportunity to take advantage of the services libraries are providing. We have the opportunity to reach out to make sure everyone in the community is being served but also that we all take advantage of the library.”
On a national level, people often feel divided.
“Libraries serve to bring people together,” she said.
Known for its collection of books, libraries also provide digital media, public computers, tax information, leads on finding a job, programming for children, teens, adults and families, and more. Shawano also has a Library of Things, which is collecting of nontraditional items such as kitchen appliances, tools and recreational equipment.
Rubenzer said she is looking forward to working with the library board of trustees and community groups to see what else the library can do, such as offering makerspace services.
A makerspace is a collaborative workspace equipped with tools and resources for making, learning, exploring and sharing. It’s a place where individuals can engage in hands-on activities, experiment with different technologies and turn ideas into tangible creations.
Makerspaces can range from those with high-tech equipment like 3D printers and laser cutters to those using more low-tech materials like cardboard and craft supplies.
Rubenzer earned an economics and political science degree in college and considered a law or teaching career.
Instead, she took a job with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development in Eau Claire. Rubenzer then enrolled in a post-baccalaureate program and began substitute teaching around the state, eventually working full time as a social studies teacher in Clintonville.
“When I decided to leave the classroom in Clintonville, I started working for the Clintonville Public Library, and I loved it,” she said. “That is where my passion for lifelong learning, for helping people find resources that they need for personal or professional reasons, or to enrich their lives, helping people find those resources, helping people with programming and helping the community come together, seeing the community come together, really drove home that libraries are the heart and hub of community. The services that you are able to provide to a library are what make a community.”
She earned her master’s degree in library science and then moved on to the Green Bay public schools.
Rubenzer has experience in budgets, staffing, programming and working with others on large scale projects.
“The work of diving into budgets, spreadsheets is what keeps the lights on so that we can fulfill the mission, and I feel like that work supports this wonderful staff and the programming that they’re doing,” she said.
She has yet to visit the other branches of the Shawano County Library but has started making the rounds of other positions within the main branch, including taking stints at the circulation desk.
“It’s always a good practice to be working the different positions in the library so you’re familiar with what is going on in the library,” she said.
What kind of a library director would Rubenzer be if she didn’t enjoy reading? She enjoys science fiction and fantasy with the “Ender’s Game” and “Red Rising” series among her favorites.
kpasson@newmedia-wi.com
