Library hires five new staff members

Of the five new members of The Dalles-Wasco County Library staff, four have come from outside of the Pacific Northwest.

“My wife and kids wanted to go out west. We really love the outdoors and wanted to experience everything the west has to offer,” said Wavrunek, who grew up in Wisconsin and was the Adams County library director for three and half years before moving to The Dalles late last year. Wavrunek was an elementary and middle school teacher in the Chicago area throughout the 1990s before he decided to go back to school and make a career change.

“I’ve always really loved libraries and felt comfortable there,” he said.

One of Wavrunek’s first library jobs was as the youth service coordinator at Forest Park Public Library in Illinois. He would practice story time with his own kids.

Wavrunek replaces Shelia Dooley, who retired after 40 years of service.

Suzanne Goolsby and Lorna Elliott also retired, leaving openings in the library staff.

Assistant director Amy Schoppert is the one new staffer from nearby.

The daughter of poet Carlos Reyes, she grew up in Portland and worked at Powell’s City of Books for 12 years. Schoppert was then with Simon and Schuster publishing company for 10 years before she got her first library job.

Schoppert worked for the King County Library System in Washington State for a couple of years before coming to The Dalles in January.

Her husband is the director of library services at Columbia Gorge Community College.

“This is the only thing I’ve ever done. I’ve always worked at least part-time in books,” Schoppert said. “I learned how to read by setting my father’s letter press. I was destined to be in books.”

Teen librarian Megan Hoak came to The Dalles from central Florida, where she was a high school English teacher for six years before she took a job as the teen services assistant at Safety Harbor Library.

“I was tired of telling students they were a test score instead of a person so I got out of education,” Hoak said. “I always wanted to be a librarian, I just didn’t know it until I taught first. I was an awkward middle school and high school student and librarians helped me figure out who I wanted to be and I want to do the same here.”

Taking over the children’s program is Amanda Hua, who was the youth services librarian at The Colony Public Library in Texas.

Hua is particularity excited about The Dalles Library’s Children’s Expansion Project.

“We’re going to build something really cool,” Hua said. “Kids from all over are going to come. There’s a lot of fun stuff going on here. I wanted to get in on the action.”

Hua said the best part of her job is reading to kids.

“It’s the highlight of my day to do story time and get them excited about learning and reading,” she said.

The Dalles Library has also hired Bob Shonbrun as a part-time circulation clerk.

Shonbrun was previously in Tampa, Florida and will work the front desk and also process audiobooks and DVDs.

“You start out just wanting to work with books so the ability to keep working is exciting, especially these days when it’s hard to get a job,” Shonbrun said.

An open house will be held Thursday, June 4 from 4-6 p.m. for the community to meet the new library staff.

“I hired some really good people and they have a lot of good ideas,” Wavrunek said. “Staff’s been really fantastic and really rolling with all the changes and new faces. Things are going really well.”