Happy ending for Valerie Gross
stage,” she said.
Phillip Dodge, chairman of the newly renamed Friends & Foundation of HCLS, said Gross’ main contribution has been making the library system about more than just books.
“With the Internet [for research], some people have said libraries will become things of the past,” said Dodge, who is also executive director of the Downtown Columbia Partnership.
“But Valerie has made them a hub of community learning and lifelong education —and that’s kind of brilliant and audacious,” he said. “For her it came down to asking, ‘Why not?’ instead of ‘Why?’”
Learning libraries Early in her tenure Gross changed the title of librarian to research specialist or instructor.
The change, she said, was calculated to bring about a difference in how library patrons view the role of staff in self-directed education, research assistance and instruction, and enlightening experiences — the three pillars of her Libraries = Education philosophy.
She said such “strategic vocabulary” was designed to “replace language that trivialized our work” at the library.
Libraries “must continue to position ourselves to obtain an accurate, perceived value of what we already are,” Gross said.
“Equal footing with other educational institutions is crucial to our success.”
County Executive Alan Kittleman said the library system “certainly has a role to play in education.”
He praised Gross’ A+ Partnerships program, a formal agreement she launched in her first year on the job that brings together the library system, school system and Howard Community College to focus on students’ academic success.
But he pointed to her reimagining of libraries as community gathering places as her signature contribution.
“You technically don’t have to go to the library to get a book. If libraries had stayed the way they’ve always been, we wouldn’t need brick-and-mortar buildings,” he said.
“Valerie saw what was coming with the changing technology and understood how toadaptthe library to makeagreater impact on the county,” Kittleman said.
Gross said her decision to leave won’t cast a long shadow on the staff’s ongoing efforts to ensure the county’s library system is one of the best.
“Howard County is part of my DNA,” she said. “But no matter how successful we’ve been, there’s always room for improvement.
Never be satisfied with the status quo.” janeneholzberg76@gmail.com
Phillip Dodge, chairman of the newly renamed Friends & Foundation of HCLS, said Gross’ main contribution has been making the library system about more than just books.
“With the Internet [for research], some people have said libraries will become things of the past,” said Dodge, who is also executive director of the Downtown Columbia Partnership.
“But Valerie has made them a hub of community learning and lifelong education —and that’s kind of brilliant and audacious,” he said. “For her it came down to asking, ‘Why not?’ instead of ‘Why?’”
Learning libraries Early in her tenure Gross changed the title of librarian to research specialist or instructor.
The change, she said, was calculated to bring about a difference in how library patrons view the role of staff in self-directed education, research assistance and instruction, and enlightening experiences — the three pillars of her Libraries = Education philosophy.
She said such “strategic vocabulary” was designed to “replace language that trivialized our work” at the library.
Libraries “must continue to position ourselves to obtain an accurate, perceived value of what we already are,” Gross said.
“Equal footing with other educational institutions is crucial to our success.”
County Executive Alan Kittleman said the library system “certainly has a role to play in education.”
He praised Gross’ A+ Partnerships program, a formal agreement she launched in her first year on the job that brings together the library system, school system and Howard Community College to focus on students’ academic success.
But he pointed to her reimagining of libraries as community gathering places as her signature contribution.
“You technically don’t have to go to the library to get a book. If libraries had stayed the way they’ve always been, we wouldn’t need brick-and-mortar buildings,” he said.
“Valerie saw what was coming with the changing technology and understood how toadaptthe library to makeagreater impact on the county,” Kittleman said.
Gross said her decision to leave won’t cast a long shadow on the staff’s ongoing efforts to ensure the county’s library system is one of the best.
“Howard County is part of my DNA,” she said. “But no matter how successful we’ve been, there’s always room for improvement.
Never be satisfied with the status quo.” janeneholzberg76@gmail.com
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