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Press Release – Mississippi Mills Public Library
After more than 35 years at the Library, Monica Blackburn is choosing to devote her time to gardening, traveling, creating elaborate meals and spending time with friends and family.
The library will host a retirement party for Monica on Wednesday, December 6 from 1 to 5 p.m. at the Almonte Branch.
Monica has had a life-long relationship with the Mississippi Mills Public Library. In her teens, Monica worked at the Library with her mother, Else Geuer. She then returned to the Library as a young mom herself and has since dedicated over three decades to the Library.
Singing to babies, reading to children, managing summer day camps and tutoring programs; a long line of Mississippi Mills’ children have been impacted by Monica’s efforts. Monica has watched babies move on to storytime, attend summer camps and then come back to the Library with babies of their own.
Over three decades, Monica has encouraged countless students to become conscientious and diligent employees. Starting as pages, working in the summer camps and then coming back to tutor children, many young people have developed their professional skills and built confidence under Monica's guidance.
Beyond children, Monica has worked closely with many others in this community. People have volunteered their time under Monica’s supervision; repairing books, teaching children how to read and keeping the shelves in order. She has also managed the almost unmanageable task of making sure the many book club members have the books they need, when they need them. In summary, the most impressive software package could not organize like Monica.
There is not a speck of space in the Library that Monica has not touched. She has purchased and cataloged almost every item, moved every shelf, moved every shelf again, and regularly checks that everything is shelved correctly. With Monica in charge, proper library organization has been a guarantee.
Though Monica will always be part of the Mississippi Mills Public Library family, we will miss her laughter, wisdom and unwavering support.
