Retired Centerburg librarian recalls 'seeing the light in their eyes'

For Chriss White, who recently retired after 43 years with the Centerburg Public Library, the fondest memories are of working with children as they discovered the magic of reading.

"Just seeing the light in their eyes when it clicked that they could read, or someone would read to them and they loved the story," White told the Mount Vernon News. "I was there long enough that I read to kids, saw them grow up, and then was reading to their kids. That was amazing when I got to that point."

For many people, the power of books extends from childhood throughout the rest of their lives, White said.

"It takes your mind somewhere else," she said. "You've got problems? Sit down and read a book of fiction. It will take you somewhere else and you are not thinking or worrying about anything else."

At age 19, she was a volunteer for the Tots-to-Trojans Childhood Conservation League, which originally sponsored the Summer Reading Program, according to the library. Soon after, she was hired as a library clerk.

"I also worked in the school library," she said. "I guess it was natural for me to apply when the Centerburg Public Library posted the first position that I had."

She has always lived within walking distance of the library.

"First, I lived on Main Street, and the library is on Main Street at the corner of Main and Clayton," White said. "Now I live on Clayton Street. I have always lived within a quarter-mile of the library. I've been spoiled over the years."

She launched the summer reading club and other programs for young people at the library.

She reads a couple of books a week.

"I love to read," she said. "I absolutely love it."

Even in retirement, she is constantly on the lookout for new books that the library may want to order.

"I'm always calling up there and saying, 'Guys, make sure you order this one,'" she said. "I want it even if nobody else does."

But libraries are more than just places to check out books, she said.

"People know that if there is any information they need, they can probably call the library," she said. "We're just the hub of the community.

“It's so fun when we have story time and the mothers are sitting at the tables, making new friends with the other moms,” she said. "They continue to have these friends that they met when their kids were tiny and going to storytime. That's been fun to watch."