To the editor:

The Board of Trustees of the Great Bend Public Library would like to take this opportunity to thank Gail Santy for her leadership and service to the library  for the past five-plus years.

Under her leadership, the library survived COVID (adapting the way services were delivered to meet patrons needs), developed many new outreaches, empowered the staff to be creative, and has seen utilization of the public library increase dramatically. The public library is a source of pride for this community and all the staff is to be commended. Meanwhile, she also served as director of the Central Kansas Library System.

Ms. Santy will continue to be involved in the community as she assumes the position of full-time director of the Central Kansas Library System and we wish her success.

This is the first time in almost 40 years that CKLS and the Great Bend Public Library have each had their own full-time director, rather than one person sharing the duties.

The Board of Trustees of the Great Bend Public Library is excited to announce the hiring of Maribeth Shafer as the new director of the Great Bend Public Library starting Monday, May 22. We are excited to have her leadership and vision for our library. We encourage all patrons to welcome her to her new position and continue to support our wonderful library.

Krista Smith

Great Bend

Chair of the Great Bend Public Library Board