Westby takes helm of Detroit Lakes Public Library as new director

Detroit Lakes, Minn. (KDLM) – Detroit Lakes has a new director for its public library.

Pamela Westby was hired to the position in late-June to fill the vacancy left by outgoing director, Greta Guck, who took over ownership of the Willow Bookstore in Perham.

Westby said her journey to the downtown Carnegie-mainstay in Detroit Lakes started more than 30 years ago in Pelican Rapids, when she, and other members of the community, began a grassroots initiative to bring that city their own library.

“There was a grassroots effort to get a public library going, so I joined a group that was just some of my friends, and some of my community members, to get something going and we started a Friends of the Library group,” said Westby, during a recent Hodgepodge interview. “And then I took a job there as soon as the library was open, and I’ve just been hooked ever since.”

Westby also highlighted the next big projects the library will be tackling in the months ahead.

“We’ve got a roof that leaking and that’s a historic roof, so it’s a specialty roof and there’s a high price tag for that, as well as any historic building” she said. “But it’s worth all that time and effort to maintain those. But then the other one is to go back to our community needs assessment that was done last year … we know that meeting rooms are in high demand and the children’s area is in need of expansion, so those will be things that we’re trying to figure out how make that happen for our folks.”

She also helped put on the library’s annual book sale Tuesday, which netted a few thousand dollars for the library’s upcoming programs.

“We raised between two and three thousand dollars and lots of volunteers to help organize the books and then pack them up again,” said Westby. “We do have some books left over and they are on the tables, so come on over and get some free books.”

Detroit Lakes Public Library is open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday thru Thursday. 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Fridays and on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

For more information on the Detroit Lakes Public Library and their programs, visit the Lake Agassiz Regional Library website.