Meet the Staff - Dana Coale

Dana loves her job as a Library Technician and the fact that she is almost never bored at work. Between helping patrons at the circulation desk, Newcomer's Orientation, Craft Group, decorations and displays, online marketing, book processing and payroll she is a very busy worker bee.

The Library Family is still her favorite part of the job, patrons and co-workers keep a smile on her face and remain her motivation to continue pushing for bigger and better things.

The Craft Group is her "baby" and she is one proud Mommy :-) While the crafts vary, the goal remains the same and that is to encourage people to come to the Library and to give back to the community. Craft Group meetings are always on the last Wednesday of every month at 5PM and all are welcome. There are two Crafts for a Cause, one is to make tie blankets that are donated to the Phoenix Children's Hospital and the other is to make beanie hats for the following beneficiaries;

• neonatal units


• Phoenix Children's Hospital


• Military service members deployed from Luke AFB


• West Valley homeless shelters

If you would like to participate in any of the crafts please contact Dana at (623) 856-7191, on facebook or by e-mailing dana.coale@luke.af.mil .

Meet the Staff - Yer Wrate

Yer is our super hard working Library Aid. She shelves and shifts books, helps out at the Circulation Desk, acts as a back up for Story Time, logs mail, handles recycling and is always willing to help out with whatever needs to be done around the Library.

If you have participated in the Craft Group then you have met Yer but you may not know that without her help (and help from Kathryn) the behind the scenes planning would never come together as well as it does.

We are all extremely grateful to Yer for her hard work, dedication and easy going attitude.

Meet the Staff - Kathryn Puckett

Kathryn Puckett is a lot of things to a lot of people. She is a friendly face welcoming patrons into the Library and she is a helpful staff member who is always willing to go the extra mile for customers and co-workers.

As a Library Technician, Kathryn processes new books, movies and other materials. She helps open and close the building, register new patrons, answers general questions & telephone calls, helps train new employees and volunteers, and assists in making decorations seen throughout the Library. Kathryn is high energy, hard working and someone that we just couldn't do without. If you haven't met her yet, I encourage you to stop in and say hello.

Meet the Staff - Gloria Manalastas

Gloria is the Queen of the Circulation Desk, and yes, I say that with a smile. She is the woman to talk to about Inter-Library Loans (a great free service that the Library offers) as well as out processing through the Virtual MPF.

The Circ desk crew handles pretty much everything that our customers see...

• Registering new patrons


• Checking materials in or out


• Submitting ILL (Inter-Library Loan) and purchase request forms


• Placing items on hold


• Contacting patrons


• Providing outstanding customer service


• Signing patrons up for various Library activities


• Signing out computers to patrons


• Fielding general questions and being the first point of contact for new and existing patrons


• Fax and copy services

If you ever have any questions or comments please feel free to call (623)856-7191.

Meet the Staff - Dulcie Sullivan

Dulcie is probably the most beloved member of the Library family. She is intelligent and a lot of fun to be around. Patrons usually see her on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays (unless she is working a weekend). In addition to processing new books, movies, etc Dulcie is one of our go-to people for Reference questions.

Dulcie also works on boards and displays in the front of the Library and is a regular participant in the Book Discussion Group.

Whether you are looking for Reference help or just searching for general information, Dulcie is a great source of knowledge and wit. *Ask her about poetry, it is one of her favorite topics.*

Meet the Staff - Pam Lum

If you are a regular patron, chances are you have seen Pam zooming up and down the hallways; she is quite a lively character and difficult to miss. Pam is another one of our Senior Library Technicians and we are incredibly lucky to have her as a member of our Library family! Her energy and creativity are a large part of what keeps us all running.

When I asked Pam to describe her job she said;

"I get to shop! I purchase all of the Library materials and contracts needed to run the Library and support the units with mission essential resources".

Please do not let hte brief description fool you, Pam is not only in charge of acquisitions, she also works Reference, payroll AND is in charge of the Library's Book Discussion Group. Mrs. Lum is definitely a jack of all trades.

Pam would also like ot remind you all that if you have any suggestions for items that you would like to read, listen to or view please, please, please feel free to submit request/suggestion slips at the circulation desk! We are always looking for input from our patrons.

Meet the Staff - Library Director, Katie Gillen

I'm Katie Gillen, the camera shy Library Director of the Luke AFB Library. For those of you who have been to the Base Library, you know what an outstanding staff I have! One of my duties is obviously to supervise, but I also work with four different budgets (asking for money even when there is none :-) .) In addition, I teach research methods classes on how to best use both the Library's traditional resources and the online databases to find information for a quality paper or project. Once a month we have the Transition Assistance Program (TAP) class in which I teach how to look for that extra and independent information about companies.

My background as a reference librarian combined with my love of aviation comes in handy for our diverse research questions- everything from finding studies on how ejection seats affect female pilots to native foods and recipes from Nigeria. Collection development - sorting out what needs to be discarded, keeping up with new titles and topics that need to replace older materials - is ongoing, as I keep a list of hundreds, ready to spend when the money is there.

The Base Library has an Air Force Instruction (AFI) that tells us to support the mission, support off duty education and support quality of life. It's my priviledge to be a small part of the Air Force community and assist in doing all those things.

Meet the Staff - Lacey Q.

Lacey, or Miss Q, is the Senior Library Technician in charge of the McNaughton Book Program as well as the Children's Program Director. If you are not familiar with our awesome McNaughton section, they can be found on the first shelving stack on the right hand side of the main reading room and are recognizable by their green labels. McNaughton is a book rental program that allows the Library to access the newest releases and best sellers so that we can make them available to our patrons as soon as possible. The Children's Program consists of various activities ranging from Story Time three mornings a week - Baby Time Tuesdays at 930AM, Toddler Tales Wednesdays at 930AM and PreSchool Story Time Thursdays at 930AM - to TV Turn Off Week every April and even includes a yearly Summer Reading Program. TV Turn Off Week is a great program that offers incentives for teens and kids 17 & under to find fun alternatives to sitting in front of the television. Adults can also participate in a similar program. If you have any questions please feel free to contact Lacey by calling either (623) 856-7191 or (623) 856-9949.

March 30, 2011 Craft for a Cause

The staff of the Luke AFB Library would sincerely like to thank all of you who participated in our March Craft for a Cause. You truly touched our hearts by showing up to help us make blankets for the Phoenix Children's Hospital and we hope that you will mark your calendars for May and June when we will be doing more crafting for a cause.

Please stay tuned for more details....

Point of Contact for all crafts is Dana Coale, 623-856-7191, lukeafblibrary@gmail.com, or Facebook Luke Base Library.

Again, we would like to thank all of our awesome patrons who make this all possible.

February's Craft - Candle Holders

Wouldn't you know it, as soon as the camera came out we all got shy. Thanks to our Library Director, Katie Gillen for giving us all a preview of the finished products from our February Craft. We decorated candle holders and centerpiece bowls and had a lot of fun.

I promise, next time we will be more chatty!

Stay tuned for more fun crafts at the Luke AFB Library.

Please post comments and tell us what your favorite crafts are, what you would like to participate in and what you would like to see from the Library blog in the future. Your feedback is always welcome and wanted!