Checking in: New Frisco library director aims for convenience, relevance

The Frisco Public Library began a new chapter Monday when Shelley Holley took over as library director to replace Dr. Ron Heezen, who retired to be near his family.

Holley brings 17 years of library experience - seven in Frisco - and a passion for working directly with patrons to the job. She was responsible for the quality of customer service in her previous role as assistant library director and head of public services.

"This is my dream job, in the sense that I've always wanted to be the director and work with a city that is as dynamic as Frisco and in a library setting and system that's growing and progressive," Holley said.

A five-member panel selected Holley out of 35 nationwide applicants for the job. As library director, she will manage 57 employees, a group Holley said already provides some of the best library customer service in the nation.

Since Holley moved to Frisco in 1999, the city and its library have experienced tremendous growth. When she began working at the library, it was in a 3,500-square-foot space in the Frisco Municipal Complex. Now it has several stories of space in the east side of the George A. Purefoy Municipal Center.

Holley has played an integral role in the library's growth through her work on the Lone Star Storytelling Festival, fund-raising, and the Frisco Heritage Museum. As the library continues to expand - it saw a 66 percent increase in circulation between December 2007 and 2008 - Holley plans to promote relevant library services that are easy to use.

A noticeable change that the new director hopes to make is the implementation of a central area where library patrons may take advantage of several services in one place.

"You can to go a kiosk-like setting and do things that sometimes now you have to go to several different areas of the library to do," Holley said.

She is also working to bring in authors to lead specialized programs and schedule regular demonstrations to keep patrons updated on the latest advances in technology. She wants residents to view the library as a resource for not only finding great books, but also as wellspring of creativity through available research programs and equipment.

Holley views the library as five unique environments: a marketplace of the new and popular on the first floor, a teen area, a children's level, an adult section, and residents' home through the Internet. The library offers downloadable books and several other services that are available online for users to access without setting foot outside their home.

After spending nearly 20 years in the library business, Holley said she loves her job because libraries bring answers and delight to those who use them.

"It's so satisfying to be a partner with a citizen whose money funds the library and to be able to give them the information they need to enrich the quality of their life," Holley said.

Library use skyrockets when economies falter, because people may drop home Internet service or need to research projects that they normally would hire out to someone else. Holley is prepared for the challenges of her new job and eager to help her customers any way she can.

"We offer a lot more services than people have any idea, and those who think that libraries are dying in the age of the Internet haven't been to our library lately," she said.

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