After an amazing career, Cindy Erickson retires as library director

It is difficult to imagine the Soda Springs Library without Cindy Erickson, who has been at the helm of the local institution for over two decades.  During that time, she has seen all manner of things change, from the kinds of materials that the library keeps on its shelves, to the way libraries are viewed in the state and country.  As she reflects on many years spent trying to make the Soda Springs library the best of its kind in the area (and succeeding admirably!), it is with both pride and a bit of wistful trepidation about actually stepping down.  Which is to say, it’s unlikely that she won’t continue to be a large part of the library’s operations and success going forward, from all indications.

“It feels humbling,” Erickson says, clearly somewhat surprised at the impromptu retirement party planned by the library staff.  “Twenty-three years.  So many things have changed.”  

One of the major changes Erickson discussed was the types of materials held by the library.  “A library used to be thought of as a place where only books are presented to people, and we’ve seen changes in the ways to get information—it’s exploded.  From cassette tapes for audio when I first got here, to cd’s that we thought would be the answer to everything until we saw them come back with scratches all over.  And now everyone can download through the library, through the internet.  It’s amazing how much things have changed.  We used to carry more than two thousand audio books when they were the big thing.  We used to have people commuting and coming into the community from the big plants and we would give them library cards and they would come in and check out a lot. That part of information gathering is getting smaller and smaller, but still people are hungry for information.  They’re hungry for stories, and they have been since the beginning of time.”

It’s important to point out that Cindy is a big believer in the communal role of libraries, but she is also a big believer in the fundamental importance of storytelling and information itself.  “The power of a story can’t be overstated.  I see children come in that are voracious readers, and they light up when they see that the next book in their series came in, and they’re excited to tell me about a series they’ve heard of at school and ask me if I could get it.  And honestly, a lot of credit goes to our city council and mayors over the years.  Because they have allowed us enough of a budget—it’s not exorbitant, by any means—but when our patrons come in and need information you should see them when we tell them we can purchase that and add it to our collection.”  

Erickson sees the library as a reflection of the community it serves, and feels that those who are critical of libraries across the country are missing a major part of the picture.  “So, book by book and request by request our collection gets built, and it reflects the interests of the people in our community.  All libraries are that way.  I wish people could understand that.  When we see things attacking library collections and librarians as people who push things on others, that isn’t how it is.  It is much more community built, from the outside in.  We’ve been advocating that for a long time.”  

The library truly is one of the last community public squares that exist in the twenty-first century.  With the dispersion of centralized public areas and the competing virtual forums many people occupy instead of realtime locations, libraries are a solid and physical reminder of the kind of face to face bazaars of information, conversation, and colloquy that characterized most of civilized history.  

The library functions as much as a public sphere as a repository of writing.  “We are able to help in ways most people wouldn’t think about.  We have families and moms bringing their kids in just to play.  We are not a quiet library,” Erickson laughs.  “I’ll say that right now.  And I’ve gotten in trouble a few times for that, but we are a gathering place for the community.”

During our discussion, Mayor Austin Robinson stopped by to wish Erickson well.  She explained that she was still going to be around as a Friends of the Library member.  The Friends was started by Erickson about twenty years ago.  “I always had this dream that someone would leave the library a million dollars, and we’d do an expansion.  But as a department of the city, it would go through them, of course.  So we needed a 501 (c3) to take donations.  We can write grants through it and it has helped a lot.  We’ve had a small group of amazing people work on it for a lot of years.  It’s very much alive and running.”

Before she took the position, Erickson had come from Arizona, where she was an artist and realtor.  “I was afraid we had moved to the edge of the civilized world, but I came to find out that Soda Springs is the world.  Just as all politics is local, everything good is local.  

She was an avid library user, but when she first got the position she did not have much experience in the specifics of the job.  When Mayor Hansen talked to her after she had first been hired, she remembers him saying, “’I’m going to trust you to learn how to become a great librarian, but what I want you to do most is bring people back to the library.’  So that’s been my whole mission.  That night, I knew that ‘You Have a Friend at the Library,’ so we put a big sign on the door and slowly built bonds with the community.  But it’s not me, it’s hundreds of people.”

“I’m just so thankful.  It’s the most rewarding job I have ever done.  And I hate the thought of leaving, but I’m getting older.  Pretty soon they’d be saying ‘aren’t you leaving yet?’

I’d better leave while I still can do my job right.  I’d like to do my own art, and dink around and build up my garden.  I have nine grandchildren, and I’d like to be free to help them, and travel around to all the things that they are interested in doing.  My mother is 96, and my sister and I take care of her.  She has recently fallen, and the rest of the summer is going to be in a rehab place with my mom.” 

Erickson reassures those who ask that she has no plans of leaving the area.  “My life is here, and my interests are here.  My family is here.  Inside these walls is a very special place to me. It’s been an absolute honor to be the librarian,” she says.  A new librarian will be hired by the Library Board under the direction of the mayor, and should be ready to take their position soon after Erickson’s retirement is official.  “I have no doubt that we’re in good hands.  It’s going to be better than fine.  They’re going to be better than me, and keep it going.  And I can go and play the backup.”

She also has no fears for the future of the library.  “My staff is so strong, and so good.  All of them love the library like I do, and that’s what you need.  And then the rest happens, and people come.  And our children’s programming has grown from very small to where now we’re serving over 500 kids.  We have one of the largest summer reading programs in the state, and we’re just a little town with a couple stoplights.  But we’re doing something right—we just love our neighbors, and they love us back.”

Erickson will officially stay in her position through June to oversee her final summer reading session.  June 28 is her last day, and the Slip n Slide day is scheduled for June 26.  She would not commit to sliding, though she always has in the past.  The tradition started about fourteen years ago, and has been the official closing activity for summer reading ever since.  “They have a great time—they can slip and slide, and run around the park and get their summer reading prizes, and it’s pretty darn fun.  And usually, whether inadvertently or on purpose, I end up slipping a few times!”    

Erickson was clear to express her gratitude for the support of all three mayors that she has worked with—Kirk Hansen, Jim Smith, and Austin Robinson.  “They’ve all brought their own personalities to things, but they were just amazing to work with.  And we couldn’t have done what we’ve done without them and the council.”  Mayor Hansen made sure that the kids room had carpet, instead of the originally budgeted cement.  Mayor Smith was largely responsible for pushing for the library expansion during his tenure.  And Mayor Robinson has worked closely with Erickson on a number of projects over the years.  “They’ve all just been fantastic to work with!”  

Despite the end of her term approaching, Erickson is still a nonstop blur of activity.  She has a number of recently completed, still underway, and soon to begin projects she is still juggling.

One of Erickson’s most recent projects has been the freeze drier, which she purchased for the library after loving her personal one.  “It thought it was kind of a silly idea, but that things is used twenty-four seven.”  The Friends of the Library was able to fund the addition of a kitchen area to a small downstairs bathroom, and now the freeze drier is a community gathering spot of sorts.  “People can share with us how they did what they did, and we can share it with other people, and there’s been a lot of information shared through that wonderful, silly project.  I didn’t see that coming!”

The Bayer Fund grant has recently allowed for the installation of a storage shed that will be used to store tables and chairs, and materials for a lot of seasonal activities.  “This is a game changer, for sure.”  “The Bayer Fund has been amazing to the library.  They have been consistent friends and partners.”  

Down the road, Erickson would like to see the back of the library have a full patio and steps leading down to the park.  “We’re so lucky that we’re in a park!  Most libraries don’t get to be in a beautiful, charming little park.”

An amphitheater was also started by Erickson and her husband, and she hopes down the road to expand that project as well.  We start the summer reading early, and there was dew on the ground, so we thought we should get the kids off the ground.  A grant helped us get the stones for it.   

Cindy will undoubtedly still be around as those projects move forward, and as part of the Friends of the Library, it’s likely she’ll spearhead many more.  Based on the outpouring of love and support as she retires, the residents of Soda Springs certainly hope so.

“I’ve made friends I won’t ever forget.  And I hope I’ll remain as much a part of the community as I have been,” Erickson says.