I know it has been a long time, but there have been major happenings at the library – Staff-wise, anyway. Kathy Frymark has retired as director of Salzmann Library. This is definitely well deserved, and she has looked forward to it for some time. I worked closely with her for the five years I was here, and learned so much, not just about the inner workings of a library, but how to help patrons to the best of our abilities. A favorite philosophy of hers was that we had the time to give that extra level of service to our patrons, and she exemplified that with everybody she helped.

Fr. John Hemsing shared some of his thoughts about Kathy and the job she did at the library, and I would just like to repeat some of them.

“Kathy did a wonderful job improving the library collection. She also coordinated book study groups, biannual lectures and made the library more accessible to the seminarians, deacons, priests, lay ecclesial ministers, catechists and the public. Kathy’s kind and gentle demeanor made everyone feel at home when they visited the library. She was extremely helpful for those looking for a hard-to-find book or to assist in one’s research.”

The next item: Who replaced her? Well, I have been promoted to be the director. This is a great honor for me, and I feel extremely blessed to have been offered this opportunity. I only hope I can do as good a job as Kathy did, and with that in mind, I foresee no major changes anytime in the near future.

Finally, we have been lucky enough to hire a new assistant librarian as well, Marijo Zielinski, who recently started. I look forward to working with her into the future. 

In the upcoming weeks, be on the lookout for information regarding our spring lecture, book club information and more.

As always, if you have any ideas and comments for things I could change, please let me know. If you have any books that you have read or have read the books I mention, please leave a comment. We here at Salzmann also want to know what people are reading. Comments are always appreciated – anything I can do to make this better I will strive my best to accomplish.

Here is some basic information about the library:
• Our standard hours are Tuesdays, Thursdays, 12 to 8 p.m.; Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Our address is 3257 S. Lake Dr., St. Francis, WI 53235, right next to Henni Hall, due west of the South Parking Lot.
• The library’s phone number is (414) 747-6479. If you would like to contact me through email, it is mschrauth@sfs.edu.
• There is free Wi-Fi available.
• “Like” us on Facebook – Salzmann Library