Newly-appointed M-O Library Director Drew Sams has taken over for longtime director Jerie Tichenor, who retired in January.
by Holly Allen
The board of the Meriden-Ozawkie Library has chosen a familiar face to serve as its new director following the retirement of 18-year employee Jerie Tichenor. Starting this month, Drew Sams, formerly the assistant library director, will step into the role Tichenor vacated in January.
Sams and her family moved to the area when she was five years old. She attended the Jefferson West school district from kindergarten through twelfth grade, graduating in 2012. Originally planning to go into teaching, Sams began college classes at Highland Community College toward that aim. However, after being hired as a library assistant in 2016, she quickly realized her calling.
“Simply put, I fell in love with this job,” Sams said. “Getting to work in this position with children and adults of all ages was a more exciting prospect for me.”
Sams spent her time at the library working with children’s outreach, providing story time opportunities within the schools and at local daycares. After two years of working as library assistant, she was named assistant director, and has worked alongside Tichenor in that capacity since. Currently, she also runs the library’s weekly children’s story time, which takes place at 11:15 a.m. each Wednesday at the Meriden library location, 7272 K4 Hwy., Suite D.
For their annual expansive summer program, the library will often utilize the community building in Ozawkie, which has more room for the increased number of participants once school is out.
The library has worked for a number of years on fundraising for a new, larger library building which would have much more room for library and community events and gatherings. They currently own land next to Jeff West Junction at Meriden, but building plans have been repeatedly pushed back as costs have increased and supplies and labor became in high demand. Sams hopes to ramp fundraising efforts back up in the fall.
“I feel like we were really lucky having Jerie. She was a wonderful mentor and she did an amazing job in juggling the demands of the job and working toward making the new building a reality,” Sams stated. “I’m hoping to be able to build the momentum to continue that work, and that we will be able to break ground sooner rather than later.”
The library currently has just one other full-time employee, Librarian Morgan Ham, Meriden. Kayla Ray and Cortni Essman work part-time shifts, mostly covering Saturdays and helping out during the busy summer reading program season. Kiersten Frickey, a Woolly Farms Foundation member, works on Wednesdays.
The library board is currently looking for one other librarian to cover shifts at the library, which is open from 9 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.
Currently, the group is making plans for its summer reading program, which runs from May through August. This year’s theme is “All Together Now” and the focus will be books of unity and friendship. Often, the summer program is so busy, it will run several sessions per week.
“I love to read, but I find myself drawn to the kids’ books. Those are my favorite finds. And getting to share them with the kids, and see their reactions, is priceless,” said Sams.
“I find it interesting that the same books seem to hit, no matter who the audience.”
She names her “go-to children’s books” as anything by Eric Litwin. Her favorite is “The Nuts: Bedtime at the Nuthouse,” illustrated by Scott Magoon. She also recommends the “Mother Bruce” books by Ryan T. Higgins and her favorite classic read is “Where the Wild Things Are” by Maurice Sendak, which always seems to prompt a lively discussion about what happens in the story.
As far as adult books, Sams finds herself drawn to the choices of the Reese Witherspoon Book Club books.
Like many readers of a certain age, she credits a certain boy wizard and his fellow magical companions for her love of the written word.
“The Harry Potter series will always be a favorite of mine. Before I read those books, I really struggled and was not a strong reader,” Sams articulated. “‘The Sorcerer’s Stone’ was the first book I enjoyed reading as a child, and it made me want to read more and more.”
Though Sams and her husband, Adam Tignor, who works at Haas Metal Engineering, reside at Topeka with their two Corgis, Sasha and Poppy, she has strong ties to the Meriden community, and is committed to being a positive force in continuing to better the library’s offerings for its local patrons.
In addition to the library’s current offerings, which include expanded programming for children and teens, Sams would like to work toward offering more adult options. While the library currently has an adult summer reading program and a monthly book club, she has just begun brainstorming new ideas to maybe include crafting classes and other after-hours events, as well as community outreach utilizing local businesses and parks.
The Meriden-Ozawkie Library can be reached on Facebook, by phone at 785-484-3393 or by email at meridenozawkiepubliclibrary@gmail.com.