New county librarian Laura Einstadter stacks the shelves at the library, which has been seeing some recent changes.

Photo by: Jenifer Gee

Tucked away in a parking lot off of Highway 49, the Amador County Library is at first glance almost lost in the mix of the car dealership, hardware store and community pool that surround it.

But the library's staff and its new librarian, Laura Einstadter, are gearing up with a new marketing campaign that will remind the public of all the benefits - most of which are free - the library can offer.

"I think the library is moving forward in a really wonderful direction and I think people should just come in and see all the new and great changes," said Amador County Library Tech Sue Bickford.

One of those changes is the addition of the law library that was formerly housed in the Amador County Courthouse in Jackson. The law section was moved into the library in Jackson so it would be more accessible to the public, Einstadter said. Additional shelving was added to the library to accommodate the section and the books that used to be in that section were relocated to other areas of the library.

The library also wants to encourage more people to take advantage of the literacy program. The literacy program is a free and confidential program available for those 16 years old and older who have either dropped out of high school or those who want to enhance their skills.

The program is in need of additional volunteers to help those who want to take the general education development test, also known as the GED, or raise their skill level at work, according to Connie Murdock, literacy coordinator for Amador County Library.

"It's a goal-oriented learning center so whatever their skill level is, we tutor them on meeting their goal," Murdock said.

One way the program helps people improve their job performance is by taking documents and materials from their place of work and helping them learn those documents so they can prepare themselves for a promotion.

The program, Murdock said, has been very successful and students like the one-on-one tutor experience it provides.

"Our goal is to change the lives of adults in Amador County," Murdock said. "We have changed a lot of lives and will continue to do so."

Helping the staff accomplish this goal is newly hired librarian Einstadter, who has been on the job for barely two months and has already made some improvements.

Her goal is to make the library and its materials more accessible. Last week she relocated back issues of various magazines that had been stored away but she found room to make them public. She has also made audio equipment more accessible in the children's area.

She plans to put her 30-plus years of experience as a librarian to use promoting the literacy program and other programs that help the community.

"I'm very happy to be here and I'm looking forward to working with everybody in Amador County," Einstadter said. "I hope to bring the library forward into the future."

Einstadter was recently welcomed by 75 community members at a tea co-hosted by the Library Improvement and Funding Taskforce, Sutter Creek Woman's Club, Friends of the Library and library staff.

Amador County Board of Supervisors Louis Boitano and Ted Novelli were also present to welcome a woman who was the end result of the county's search for a librarian that started last summer.

"We are thrilled to have found a county librarian of Laura's caliber," said Terri Daly, soon to be county administrative officer. "Our search for a librarian attracted a number of highly qualified candidates. Laura's professionalism, experience and creativity made her stand out from the rest."

LIFT was instrumental in the search for the new librarian and is also searching for a new home for the expanding library, according to LIFT Chairperson Norene Williamson.

"We love the building and it's a great site but we're just growing too big for it," Williamson said. "We're looking to see what we can do about getting a new library."

Williamson said part of the process involves completing a needs assessment of the county, which is an instrumental part of a grant application. She said LIFT will continue to obtain their goal of a new building and the group appreciates all of the support it has received.

For more information about the library's literacy program or to volunteer, call 223-6305.