Becoming the new branch manager of the Patrick County Library is a dream come true for Somer Luna-Ojodeagua, who officially stepped into the role on June 2.
She took over after former branch manager Garry Clifton retired at the end of May.
“I always said my dream job is to work in a library in whatever format that is, and the fact that less than two years ago I got to do that was a dream come true. But this position takes the cake. I am honored and excited,” Luna-Ojodeagua said.
Following Clifton feels like stepping into big shoes.
“It’s a little intimidating to be honest,” she said.
Taking on the role is also a full-circle moment for Luna-Ojodeagua, who received her first library card from Clifton when she was seven years old—on the bookmobile.
“I remember that day clearly. It was at Patrick Springs Primary School, and I just remember the feeling of holding this responsibility in my hand. This card that I could check out books with, and books were my passion even then,” she said.
Raised in a single-parent household with no siblings, books became her companions.
“So I knew at that moment, ‘I’ve got this. I can choose what I read with this card,’ so it was a defining moment for me,” she said.
Over the years, she continued visiting the bookmobile, with Clifton witnessing her growth. Eventually, she brought her own children, who also received their first cards from him.
“My youngest graduates college in August, so he’s seen the whole process. For him to give me my first library card when I was seven-years-old to me being able to take over for him as he retires, it’s a full circle moment,” she said.
Clifton’s support has helped ease her nerves.
“Like, ‘if Garry didn’t think I could do this, he wouldn’t support me,’ so I feel like I could do it. I have tons of ideas, and no one loves this more than I do, so I’m going to take care of it, and water it, and nourish it, and let it grow and be something that is needed for the whole community because our community needs this library and all it has,” she said.
Luna-Ojodeagua said the library has many underutilized resources, including being one of the few places in the county where people can send faxes or make copies.
“We’re used a whole lot for that. Zoom meetings—they come in and use the quiet room. We have so many resources available,” she said.
She also enjoys showing visitors how to use the card catalog and place holds for books from other branches.
“I show them how to use that resource and how to put holds on books from other branches for them to come here and pick up. A lot of people don’t realize that you can do that. They thought they had to go to” another branch to get specific books “because a lot of them can’t go that far away,” she said.
Luna-Ojodeagua said her mission is to make sure everyone can access and benefit from library services.
“And to create more things that we don’t even realize we need to be able to reach everyone,” she added.
In her new role, she hopes to expand outreach efforts and partner with organizations such as Patrick & Henry Community College (P&HCC), The Landmark Center, and the Patrick County Alzheimer’s Group, LLC.
“I have an aunt that has Alzheimer’s and that’s a group that is dear to my heart, and so I would like to do some outreach, bring some programs in. I don’t want to be offensive to anyone, so I need to speak with the representatives there with the group to see if maybe they could come in and do a Storytime, do short stories, or whether it’s a chair exercise just for them, and maybe we just sit around and talk and share experiences. Maybe they want to read stories to some of our Storytime kids. I mean there’s lots of options and I have lots of ideas,” she said.
Additional ideas include starting a pen pal program between Landmark residents and homeschooled students, and inviting professionals from different careers to speak at the library.
Passionate about literacy, Luna-Ojodeagua also wants to find ways to engage middle school students, who typically only interact with the bookmobile.
“So, I would really like to maybe start a book club or do some kind of things throughout the school year that’s just not like the summer reading program that we have—something that’s a little bit more year-round,” she said.
She’s also interested in bringing language classes to the library, including English, American Sign Language (ASL), and Spanish.
“I don’t know when, but I think being able to have someone in the community that is willing to tutor, teach us those language skills would be super beneficial,” she said.
While funding is the primary challenge she foresees, Luna-Ojodeagua said getting people through the library’s doors is also important.
“But like I said, the more people realize what we have, I don’t think that would be a big challenge. I would say funding would be the biggest challenge,” she said.
Although her management style and organizational system differ from Clifton’s, Luna-Ojodeagua said that doesn’t mean one is better than the other.
“It’s just getting over that hump and learning it all. But I have a wonderful team, we all love the library and we love each other, and that makes things a lot easier,” she said.
