Kathleen Rippel is retiring Aug. 1, after 17 years of service with the Central Kansas Library System. Rippel served as a Reference and Rural Services Consultant, Interlibrary Loan and Technical Services Consultant and worked with libraries and library patrons in 17 counties across central Kansas. Throughout her career with the Central Kansas Library System, Kathy Rippel staunchly supported  resource sharing and shared her vision that all Kansans were entitled to equal access of information and library materials, no matter where they lived.  Kathy served as the original cataloger for CKLS, cataloging library materials to include cake pans. Rippel is an avid genealogist and has trained librarians and offered training to library patrons on basic to advanced genealogy. She initiated the “Just in Time” interlibrary loan purchasing model to meet the needs for those items that could not be obtained through traditional channels. Rippel also served as the back up interlibrary loan advisor at the state level. In the later part of her career, Kathy put in countless hours to automate circulation and cataloging for small and rural libraries across Central Kansas.   
Before working for the Central Kansas Library System, Kathy worked as the Reference Librarian at Great Bend Public Library for 13 years from Dec. 2, 1985, through February 28, 1998.
Resource sharing and access with a strong customer service orientation to successfully get people what they want only begin to describe Kathy’s contribution to the Kansas library community. A reception to celebrate Kathy’s dedication and service will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. on Friday, June 19, at the Central Kansas Library System, 1409 Williams Street in Great Bend.