West Lafayette Library Director Nick Schenkel will retire at the end of May after 41 years as head of the library system.
WBAA’s Ben Thorp sat down with Schenkel to talk about how libraries have changed over his tenure and what the future holds for future library directors.
Ben Thorp: I want you to start by talking about when you had made the decision that I am ready to step back after – I'm just doing some basic math here – I believe 41 years as the West Lafayette library director?
Nick Schenkel: That is correct. I think – that's a good question. I think I decided, more or less, that I wanted to see the construction project pretty much finished. We're not completely finished. But we're close enough to finished that I feel comfortable stepping away.
Thorp: Yeah, I kind of had this question about how much COVID might have impacted this and the construction project – they both were happening at the same time until you guys opened the new building last year. And so was there a little bit of, well, I can't leave in the midst of everything that's happening right now?
Yes, and I know a lot of my colleagues felt – other librarians around the state – felt the same way. We’re seeing a number of retirements this year. And I think a lot of that was COVID driven, that people didn't want to leave their institution, their library in the midst of a COVID problem, challenge. The first time for all of us, I think, that we really had that major a challenge just kind of thrust upon us. And that's true for everybody – I'm not trying to single out librarians necessarily. But when you're directing a library and something like that happens it is truly a once in a generation, once in a multi-generation kind of situation. And so I think a lot of my colleagues, including myself, felt – well…let's make sure we get through this. And then we can think about retirement.
Thorp: 41 years. I want you to maybe talk to us about what has changed about being the director of a library in that time, and what are the things for you that stand out as most important about this time?
What has changed? Obviously, the most obvious change probably is the physical – the physical nature of the library. Just physically, the library has changed a lot in terms of its size and its offerings. And we've gone from a truly print-centric collection and a variety of services into a much more complex hybrid kind of print, audiovisual, now computer-oriented, technology-oriented collection and services. It's interesting to me that print still remains very important for our community and for our services here still. We still circulate around 200,000 plus books and other kinds of things.
Thorp: I did want to ask you about the bans. I think that the state has largely considered bans having to do with school libraries, allowing the public, you know, families to review materials and decide whether or not they find it offensive and try to get it pulled from school libraries. There were some, I think, early on looks at – are we going to include public libraries in this swath of libraries that we're reviewing the materials on. How much do you expect that that is going to come up in the future? Do you think there's going to be a continuance of trying to regulate and ban materials available at a public library?
Schenkel: Yes, I do. I think for the time being that that has legs. And I think that's going to continue. And I think it's important for public libraries in particular, but school libraries also, to indicate that we already have opportunities, we already have online as well as paper opportunities for people to object. And there's a system, if you object to a book, there's a system for reviewing it by staff, ultimately by the library board. So it's not like this is something that we didn't think about, or we didn't consider, that we don't take it seriously. Which is part of my problem with the whole thing. The system is already in place. The system is working. We may not remove a book because you think it should be removed. But that's part of the democratic process. You have the opportunity to object, you have the opportunity to have your objection reviewed, and the review may go your way, the review may not go your way. That's how things work. You as an individual, or even as a group – my opinion, shouldn't have the opportunity to tell everybody else what they can and can't do.
Thorp: Thank you for taking the time.
Schenkel: You are most welcome
