Librarian closes chapter, eager to open next

Karen Davis worked in the Trussville Public Library for 16 years, so the question about her favorite book should be a tough one. It should give her pause.

It doesn’t.

“‘The Day the Crayons Quit,’” she says immediately.

It is a children’s book about a boy named Duncan who wants to color, but his Crayons have all written him letters about their individual duties — black wants to be used for more than outlining, blue wants to do more than color the ocean, and so on — and they have had enough.

“It’s just the cutest little book,” Davis says.

Davis hopes that doesn’t seem childish or immature, but it is far from it. It is inspiring, refreshing and, frankly, somewhat predictable. After all, why wouldn’t a book like that be the favorite of a 16-year children’s librarian?

“I love kids,” says Davis, who planned to retire from the library Dec. 31. “I’ve always loved kids. That’s my thing, is children.”

In fact, children are the reason she was hired at the library in the first place. She often brought her grandchildren to the Trussville Public Library in 2002 for the summer reading program. The library director at the time was consumed with the work, so Davis asked if she needed some help. That question turned into a six-week job the next summer. Those six weeks became eight. The Trussville City Council then approved Davis as a full-time children’s librarian.

“I came in and loved it and have been here ever since,” Davis says. “There’s nothing like the staff here. They’re like family.”

Davis says it was “really, really tough” to retire, but she knew that it was time. She is ready to cook more often, work in her yard and spend more time with family. She and her husband will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary March 16.

“I guess I’m just ready for another chapter, as they say,” she says, laughing at the bookish pun.

Davis, who won Best Personality in the eighth grade, cuts up and laughs often. She says that a City of Trussville employee that helped her with her retirement plans told her she had more personality than any librarian she had met. However, there is also a time to be serious. In her 16 years, she thoroughly researched what books to order for the children’s department. She led the American Girl Club that the library hosts. She started planning for summer reading programs each October. She cleaned the books when she had the time, and plans to volunteer to wipe the grime from book spines during retirement.

“I take what I do very, very seriously,” Davis says. “I just do. So many younger people are different now. (To them), it’s just ‘a job.’ To me it’s more, it’s almost like a passion. I just think you should take your job seriously and be on time. Take pride in what you do.”

Library Director Emily Tish says Davis is considered the “heart and soul” of the children’s department.

“Karen has a strong depth of knowledge of our children’s collection and what needs to be added, weeded or replaced,” Tish says. “Our library will be hard-pressed to find a librarian to fill her tiny shoes. Karen is an example for our younger staff members to look up to and learn from. I am going to miss her strong work ethic and her caring manner.”

Davis reveals that a hobby of hers is to color with Crayons, which partially explains her favorite book. She has received Crayons and coloring books as gifts. Each Christmas, she gets herself a new box of Crayons and coloring book. She estimates that she has 20 coloring books now, ready for retirement.

“I’ve always liked to color, my whole life,” she says.

She also reveals that she purchased a large scrapbook when she started working at the library in 2003. She has cut out some news articles about the library and stuck them inside. She will also include certificates she’s received, including her Customer Service Person of the Year award from the Trussville Area Chamber of Commerce in 2014, which she was nominated for by a man who said she helped find books for his son and would even pull them before he arrived. The scrapbook isn’t finished, but it will be soon. For 16 years, she has put books in the hands of Trussville’s children. Now, she is creating her own book, a scrapbook full of memories.

“It’s just the relationships you make,” she says. “It’s wonderful, to me, and it’s rewarding.”