Sarah Flowers is movin
’ on up. The Morgan Hill city librarian and local resident has
been named deputy county librarian for the Santa Clara County
Library system, of which the local library is a part.
Sarah Flowers is movin’ on up. The Morgan Hill city librarian and local resident has been named deputy county librarian for the Santa Clara County Library system, of which the local library is a part.
“Sarah has extensive knowledge and familiarity with Santa Clara County and the County Library system,” said Melinda Cervantes, county librarian. “She is a proven manager with a clear sense of how each community library strengthens the whole of the organization.”
“I’m very pleased,” Flowers said Sunday, “though I’ve been doing it (the job) for a couple of months.”
Flowers has been acting deputy since March 1 and was named to the position, vacated by Julie Farnsworth, after a nation-wide recruitment process. Her new duties involve working with all library managers, personnel, budgets and building projects as they appear.
While the City of Milpitas – also part of the county library system – is hard at work building a bigger library, Flowers said she is looking forward to working on Morgan Hill’s new library – when and if the city’s second grant proposal for state library funds is accepted.
Flowers has worked in the past as Extra Help Librarian the county library and young adult librarian and cataloger at the Los Gatos Library.
She and her husband, Phil, moved to Morgan Hill 17 years ago and brought up three sons, mostly through Morgan Hill schools and Bellarmine College Preparatory. Stephen is a U.C. Berkeley graduate, a teacher at Archbishop Riordan High School in San Francisco and was recently married. Mark is about to graduate from college and will join the Jesuit Volunteer Corps.
“It is like the Peace Corps,” Flowers said. “They work in San Francisco giving general assistance to advocacy projects in areas like the Tenderloin. They help people get benefits, among other things,” she said.
The couple’s youngest son, Thomas, who is a U.C. Regent’s Scholar, is finishing his freshman year at the University of California at Santa Barbara.
It was when Thomas was ready to start kindergarten that Flowers decided to return to school for a Masters Degree in Library Science. She already had a B.A. in history from Kansas State University and an M.A. in history from U.C. Berkeley.
The idea came from a former MHSD librarian – a position that no longer exists because of budget cuts – for whom Flowers volunteered.
“She said I should consider getting my degree in library science,” Flowers said. “It had been in the back of my mind.” So, in 1992 at San Jose State University, she did. SJSU is one of the few schools in the west to offer such a degree.
Phil Flowers said he was proud of his wife and will take her new job as an opportunity to retire.
“Actually I was going to retire anyway – this (the nice pay increase) just makes it easier,” he said.
Phil said he plans to work with the lay ministry – they are members of the St. Catherine’s Parish – and possibly do a bit of teaching though he recognizes that this is not the best time to join that profession.
The commute to county headquarters in San Jose is considerably longer than to the Morgan Hill Library at Peak and West Main avenues. The new deputy librarian has noticed an improvement since the Hwy 101 lane extension north of Cochrane Avenue was finished.
“Oh boy, the commute is much better,” she said. “It only took me 35 minutes to get home last Friday – it was very kind of them to open those lanes.”
The Morgan Hill resident serves on the American Library Association Printz Awards Committee, a body that recognizes excellence in books targeting teenagers as the primary audience. She is a member of the American Library Association, Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), Public Library Association (PLA), and the California Library Association.
Flowers will go to Toronto for the ALA convention in June.
Flowers has published four books of nonfiction for children and teens, including “The Reformation”, “The Age of Exploration” and “Space Exploration.” She regularly writes video reviews for professional journals such as Voice of Youth Advocates and School Library Journal.
“I am proud to be a part of an outstanding organization such as the Santa Clara County Library, and I’m looking forward to this new challenge,” she said.
Acting County Executive Peter Kutras, Jr. – also a Morgan Hill resident – said that, “As Deputy County Librarian, Sarah Flowers will play a critical role in shaping library services, programs and collections. I am very pleased to recognize Sarah’s expertise and to have her help guide our County Library system.”
Nancy Howe of Saratoga stepped temporarily into Flowers’ shoes at the Morgan Hill Library though, as is required, the job will be opened for recruitment.
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