Librarian Luminaries- Theresa Quiner

Director for the Kuskokwim Consortium Library

Column Editor: Caroline Goldsmith (Associate Director, The Charleston Hub)

Academic librarians and library staff are a bridge between the vast world of knowledge and the needs of students, faculty, and researchers. “Librarian Luminaries” is a new column which will feature a different librarian each month who has had a recent notable achievement, implemented a new idea or approach in their library, who is a trail blazer, or who is an overall exemplary model of service, scholarship and innovation.

We’re happy to share this interview with Theresa Quiner, Director for the Kuskokwim Consortium Library, who was featured for our April 2025 Librarian Luminaries column!

ATG: Hi, Theresa! Can you share a little bit with us about your background and education?

TQ: I have a bachelor’s degree in English literature with a minor in Spanish from the University of Iowa. I started working in my first library job as a page for the Des Moines Public Library in high school, and have continued working in libraries ever since including for the Iowa City, and Orange County, N.C. Public Libraries and now in the Kuskokwim Consortium Library in Alaska.

ATG: What made you decide to go to library school or drew you towards librarianship?

TQ: I have always loved to read which is what drew me to the profession, initially. However, what I realized pretty quickly after starting to work in libraries is that it is a great profession for people who like helping others and solving problems. I decided to go back to school to get my Master’s in Library Science online through East Carolina University after being offered a promotion to the Library Director position for KCL.

ATG: For about ten years now, you’ve worked in the Kuskokwim Consortium Library in the small community of Bethel in Alaska. Can you tell us more about the evolution of your role and how you came to be library director?

TQ: I started as a Library Technician and my job involved day to day customer service, technical services, and interlibrary loan. Bethel is a pretty remote community in Alaska, and a lot of professionals come to Bethel for short stints and don’t stay and put down roots in the community. The previous director resigned fairly quickly after I started, and I was offered a promotion. I think my employer could see that I really liked the job and serving the community.

ATG: We understand that Kuskokwim Consortium Library serves as both a public library for your community and a university library for students at the Kuskokwim Campus of the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and that you have only three full time staff members in your library. What are some of the challenges of serving both the University and the community equally, and how do you balance those differing needs?

TQ: It is a challenge serving everyone equally, but I think we do a pretty good job. I have a small staff, but they are really great and have been with the library for a number of years, and we also have a full time Jesuit Volunteer which helps fill in the gaps, especially with providing one-on-one assistance with technology, helping with adult programs, and doing outreach with the Bethel Housing and Homelessness Coalition. We have a lot of really great support within the community and are able to do a lot because of the strong partnerships we have with other organizations and volunteers that are always willing to work with us. We have a routine with serving the academic community, and focus on outreach to classes at the beginning of the semester to teach students research and library skills basics which helps us build relationships with the students early in the semester.

ATG: That sounds like a great system that you have in place, and community support from those local organizations is invaluable, I’m sure. We noticed that your library has a checkout for household items. What types of items are available for check-out and what are the top items that community members and/or students are borrowing?

TQ: We started our “Library of Things” a couple of years ago because we had started purchasing some items to use in library sponsored workshops, and it works well to use the equipment in programs and then have it available for people to checkout later so they can try things at home. This is helpful for people that don’t want items taking up space in their kitchens that only get used a couple of times a year. The most popular item hands down is our Pressure Cooker. We have a very active culture in Bethel of hunting, fishing and gathering, and the Pressure Cooker is frequently checked out during the summer harvest months.

ATG: What have been some recent successful services, initiatives or programs that you have offered to the community or university?

TQ: One of the most successful initiatives has been our ongoing outreach to the Bethel Housing and Homelessness Coalition. We have had library representation on the coalition since its inception in 2017. One of the goals of the coalition was to build a Permanent Supportive Housing facility for Bethel’s most chronically homeless individuals. To support this goal, the library has been organizing Project Homeless Connect events multiple times a year since 2017 to both provide services and to provide a venue for the coalition to collect the needed survey data to qualify for federal grant funding. The PSH facility opened this past year, and it has been gratifying to see unhoused community members who have used the library as a day shelter moving into their very own apartment building.

ATG: What’s a major challenge you have faced in your role in librarianship and how did you overcome it?

TQ: The ongoing challenge is that we have a small staff and even smaller budget, and are trying to provide all of the same services that much larger and better resourced libraries provide to their communities. We are also in such a rural and underserved area that community needs are very high. We have really hit our stride as a library though in large part because I have retained the same full time staff members for a number of years, and each of us has done a great job of building partnerships and volunteers from within the various parts of the community that we interact with. We have a ton of support from the community which allows us to do so much more than we would otherwise be able to.

ATG: Navigating budgetary constraints and added complexities with resource allocation are definitely a challenge most libraries are facing right now. You have obviously had an enormous positive impact on your community as they recommended you to ALA for their “I Love My Librarian” Award, for which you are the 2025 honoree — Congratulations! What does receiving this award mean to you?

TQ: It means so much to me. I have worked really hard over the years to build this library up so we can better serve the community, and I don’t think I always realized that the community sees this and appreciates it. It also means so much that my amazing employee Mikayla Miller spearheaded the nomination.

ATG: What does “Librarianship Elevated” Mean to you?

TQ: I love this term. Every community has it’s struggles and areas that they would like to improve to better the lives of the people who live there. To me, “Librarianship Elevated” means that librarians and the library are leaders in helping the community work towards those goals. Libraries are anchor institutions that bring the community together, and help people live healthier, happier, and more informed lives.

ATG: Is there anything that we didn’t ask you about that you’d like to talk about here?

TQ: I love being a librarian!

ATG: I love this response! I can tell that you love your job that is evident in your work and everything you’re doing at your library. Is there something that you enjoy doing in your “spare time” or a hobby that you enjoy that you want to share with us ?

TQ: My side passion is helping our local animal rescue. I have been on the board almost since I moved to Bethel. I am also very passionate about fishing and love to cook, and really enjoy experimenting in the kitchen with the fish and wild game that are staple foods in my community. I have been fortunate to use some of these passions in the workplace, like when we held a Puppy Playtime for college students during finals week, or when I led a Sous Vide cooking workshop and taught people how to cook wild game in a variety of ways.

ATG: That all sounds exciting (and delicious)! Thank you, Theresa, for this fascinating interview and for taking the time to talk with us. I know you’re very busy, and we really appreciate it!

If you would like to nominate a librarian or library staff to be featured in this column, please reach out to us at info@charlestonhub.com.