Volunteer Spotlight August 2025

Every month, the Citrus County Library System features a volunteer in their “Outside the Stacks” blog on their website. This month, Coastal Region Library would like to shine the spotlight on Terry. We asked Terry several questions and thought it would be fun to share her responses!

Terry

Q: Why did you start volunteering?

A: I started volunteering after I retired because I needed to do something that I enjoyed but was also helpful to others.

Q: How has volunteering impacted your life?

A: Transferring into a new school in the 4th grade, I told the librarian that I wanted to volunteer in the library because the books needed to be in the proper order so people could find them. Her eyes lit up, and my library volunteerism began. I’ve always found the library to be my happy place, where I feel joy and peace, where I can help others. With my love of reading and libraries and my commitment to serving, I decided on a career as a librarian. Now, in retirement, I volunteer at the library once again because volunteering at the library is how I can best serve my community, something I think we are all called to do.

Q: What have been some of your favorite volunteer moments?

A: I can’t think of a better place to volunteer than the Coastal Region Library, where people help people. The staff is upbeat, friendly, and helpful; the patrons know they will get assistance with a caring smile. My favorite volunteer moments happen when I’m far back in the stacks, hearing the everyday sounds — a child excited to get to story time, a senior getting assistance with their phone, or a teen asking staff how to find that book with the green cover that was on the cart last week. This library is the center of its community. I’m thrilled to make my small contribution to that.

Q: Who is your favorite author? What book do you recommend to all your friends to read and why?

A: I’ve always loved to read, which also made the library a fit for me. I recently finished And So We Read On by Maureen Corrigan, an ode to Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby. I enjoy detective novels and contemporary fiction from authors such as Backman, Schwab, Adichie, Leslie Clare Hall and Percival Everett.

Q: Other than volunteering, what do you like to do with your free time?

A: When I’m not volunteering at the library, I enjoy traveling (my best vacations are the ones I share with friends). I also like baseball, movies, walking, and the theater. And I love eating, which leads me back to the library’s cookbooks….

Thank you, Terry, for dedicating your time to the Coastal Region Library! We truly appreciate all of our volunteers and are glad to spotlight one of the many special people that help to keep our branch running smoothly.

Citrus Libraries is always looking for more volunteers to help in our branches! If you’re interested in becoming a volunteer at the library, call your local branch and speak with the Customer Service Specialist. To learn more about the Citrus County Library System, please visit our website at www.citruslibraries.org and follow @CitrusLibraries on Facebook and Instagram.