Long-Time City Library Director Looks Back on a Full Career

Shortly after he retires as the Enumclaw city library director at year-end, a position he has held for 30 years, Bob Baer is headed to the Washington coast for a getaway trip with his wife, Nancy.

Unlike previous trips, though, Baer won't have to worry about who's holding down the fort at work.

"I used to have to leave a list of phone numbers in case something happened," he said, pondering the change in lifestyle. "Now, I can go away, and other than my house burning down, there's nothing else to worry about."

But truly letting go of the city library, which Nancy calls "his baby," will be hard. On the day of this interview, which took place on a Friday when the library was closed, Baer was still working.

A row of boxes lined one side of the staff lunch room, filled with photos from The Courier-Herald dating back to the late 1960s. Baer said indexing the photos will probably be on the first volunteer projects he'll take on after retirement.

After three decades in a position that saw its fair share of bureaucratic procedures and paperwork, the photo project allows Baer to return to the basic task of research, which he said he loves best.

"For me, the fun part of school was doing research, not writing or typing."

In contrast to more academic types of research (he holds an undergraduate degree in geography), Baer prefers "more practical research, where you provide information that can make change."

Case in point: As a Vista volunteer in Gary, Ind., prior to becoming a librarian, Baer's research helped bring about environmental policy changes at U.S. Steel, his wife said.

A few years later, it was love that that brought Baer to the Puget Sound area as Nancy had found a job as a social worker in Tacoma. Baer was hired in his position as the city library director in 1982.

And they've remained here since.

Community on the mind

Baer's leadership over the last 30 years ensured that what would otherwise be just a small-town library in fact could hold its own in providing a variety of resources for the community, said librarian Claire Wesley.

"He really has a sense of community," she said. "And he also has a sense that the library can be a focal point for community."

Reflecting on his legacy, Baer said he would like to think that residents view the library as an active community center, "and that lots of people come to use the resources in it," whether it's computers, meeting rooms, helping kids learn to love reading or just the pleasure of borrowing and reading books.

Over the course of his tenure, much has changed in terms of how a library functions.

"He saw it move from the old little building that it was in into its new building," said city colleague and Senior Center Manager Jobyna Nickum.

In an last year, Baer named the construction and move into the new library facility in 1991 as one of his favorite moments.

"He saw it move from the card index to the computerized system it's in now," Nickum added.

Whereas once librarians were mainly concerned with when a hardcover book became available and the subsequent paperback version a few months later, these days they're working with audio files and e-books as well, Baer said.

Even in his last few weeks on the job, Baer is excited about the library being able to circulate a number of Nook E-readers that will be preloaded with 10-15 books each.

"This was possible because of a grant we received," he said. "The goal is to help expose people to new technology."

A man of many hats

Roughly 10 years ago, due to a reorganization of city departments, Baer took on the responsibility of the Human Services Advisory Board, which makes an assortment of recommendations to meet community needs.

"To him it wasn't just one more duty -- he learned about human services," Nickum said. "He learned about domestic violence and about all the community needs, and he took those on. And he became committed to it."

Beth Coppin-Cross, chair of the board, said, "He's really interested in human services and taking care of the citizens of Enumclaw and making sure they have what they need."

Though he's not a voting member of the board, Baer nonetheless touts its many achievements, including creating a human-services resource directory, working with the Enumclaw Regional Healthcare Foundation and securing a fourplex that is now operated by Enumclaw Youth and Family Services for transitional housing.

He is also a city liaison on the Cemetery Board.

Looking toward the future

Baer confirmed that the uncertainty of the library's future, given discussions in the last year regarding an annexation into the King County Library System, contributed to his decision to retire now.

"The library is not moving forward," he said. "You could almost say it's moving backward. And the status quo ... we've been keeping our nose above water for the last few years.

"I don't know that our nose is above water now."

While the on the matter of funding the library earlier this year -- comparing the option of raising city taxes or annexing into KCLS, Baer said he isn't sure citizens are clear on the issue.

"I don't think there's a good understanding of what's going on," he said.

The city plans to put a vote on annexation on the April 2012 ballot, and the upcoming year is the first time in 90 years that the city hasn't funded the library from the general fund. The city does not consider the city library a core service, Baer said.

At the same time, while officials discussed how to proceed, "no one directed any questions to me."

Baer clarified that he isn't against an annexation into KCLS, but "there is a commitment with a locally support institution that a larger institution is not focusing on," he said. "They have goals for the whole system."

And on the off-chance voters reject annexation, "what happens in 2013?"

And what happens to the staff?

"I'm fortunate enough to be at the right age and eligible for retirement," he said. "They have to continue in what is not necessarily the most comfortable environment."

Continuing on

In addition to his photo indexing project, Baer will continue his services with the Enumclaw Rotary Club and overseeing the World Vision AIDS Caregiver Kits.

He will also serve on the board of the Enumclaw Schools Foundation.

"I had a rule: don't volunteer for anything the first year," he said. "I already broke that rule."

And in his off-time, Baer said he'd like to tackle a few home-improvement projects, as well.

Baer's final thoughts

"The library isn't just me. The institution is more important than the people running it. ... I hope I helped to make the library a vital part of the community. Libraries are important and they play a role. Hopefully, this one continues to be used more and more."

A reception will be held in Baer's honor on Friday at the library. .