Haines library director Carolyn Goolsby will say goodbye to Haines at the end of this month (March). She’s taking a job as the director of the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Kuskokwim campus in Bethel. KHNS’ Corinne Smith reports. 

Carolyn Goolsby

Carolyn Goolsby is smiling and a bit teary-eyed at a recent goodbye gathering at the Haines Library. Friends, community members, and library staff gathered to wish her well. There are homemade hors d’oeuvres, and a colorful cake made for the occasion, with slices shaped like a stack of books.

“It’s going to be awful leaving Haines,” Goolsby said. “I’m going to miss Haines so much.

Goolsby is headed to a new role as campus director of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Kuskokwim campus in Bethel. She has served as Haines Library Director since 2018. 

“Haines is a special alchemy of people and place, and there’s no place quite like it,” she said. “And I have been honored to be the director of the best small library in America. And to be honest, in my professional opinion, the best damn library anywhere.”

Cake made for Carolyn Goolsby’s goodbye reception by Costa Brava Bakery and Patisserie (Photo courtesy of Costa Brava)

In Haines, Goolsby was also active in community leadership. She was board chair of the American Bald Eagle Foundation, a member of the board of directors of this radio station – KHNS Radio – and the Chilkat Valley Orchard Project.

She’s been called a “renaissance woman” – she’s an avid reader, baker, and barbeque aficionado, and was a Jeopardy champion, and competitive weightlifter.

She’s also is a classically trained opera singer, and was a member of the Women’s Acapella Chorus, as well as the Lynn Canal Players, including the 2019 performance of “Steel Magnolias.” 

“I have learned so much from people in Haines,” Goolsby said. “Every trade, every profession, anything you want to learn, you can learn here from people who are amazing and more than willing to share their knowledge.” 

In Goolsby’s time as director, the Haines Library was named as a finalist for the prestigious National Medal for Museum and Library Service Award three years in a row.

Haines author and Alaska Writer Laureate Heather Lende is a member of Haines’ Friends of the Library, a non-profit supporting the library, and commended Goolsby’s leadership throughout the COVID pandemic and 2020 storm disaster.

“Just personally, what I really appreciated so much about Carolyn was the way she held the library together, and in a way that community during the slide,” Lende said. “And, that time, that was really, really hard. She made the library available, and it was needed. And then also during all this COVID time keeping library services happening and being very creative with the ways that we did that. And that keeps the community connected.” 

Goolsby says she’ll remember the many ways the community showed support during difficult times. 

“Changing our services during the pandemic, and how our staff just kind of jumped in and said, ‘Okay, we can do this,’ Goolsby said. “And that’s a very Haines thing, we just get on with it, and make a go of it. And, you know, the way people responded to us during that time when we had to reduce hours, but then when we came back that amazing response.”

In her next role as director of University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Kuskokwim campus in Bethel, she says she’s looking forward to supporting students in their education.

“We have a dual mission of community education, and also providing a bridge for Native students to come into the university environment without having to step right out of a village and into Fairbanks. And that can be very daunting. And you know, many of our students just aren’t ready for that. So we provide that bridge,” Goolsby said. “We provide programs where people can get a certification in say human services and social work. And then they move to an associate’s degree, and then a bachelor’s and this year, we have someone graduating with her master’s, a Native person. My job there is to be the campus director. So I’m the head of the entire campus. And I report to the Vice Chancellor. I couldn’t be happier about that. I think it’s a great job. And it’s certainly worth doing.” 

Haines assistant library director Rebecca Heaton has been promoted to library director. She has served the Haines library for 32 years. Pending confirmation by the Haines Assembly, she will begin her tenure as director on April 1.

 

(Correction: The headline incorrectly stated Goolsby was leaving for a UAS (University of Alaska Southeast) administration job. Goolsby will be taking a job with UAF (University of Alaska Fairbanks))