Williston
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APRIL 17, 2025
WILLISTON’S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1985
An experienced director takes library lead BY JASON STARR Observer staff
Kevin Unrath has taken the helm at the Dorothy Alling Memorial Library at an inflection point in its history. The library is on the cusp of an expansion that would roughly double its size and set it up to accommodate the Town of Williston’s anticipated population growth for decades. It’s a familiar position for Unrath, who started as the library’s new director last week. In 2017, he took over leadership at Shelburne’s Pierson Library just as that town was embarking on a similarly extensive library construction project. Shelburne voters passed a multi-million-dollar bond during Unrath’s first year on the job, and, two years later, the new Pierson Library opened its doors. Plans for Williston’s library expansion have been developed with public input and architectural design work over the past two years. The library’s board of trustees approved the plans earlier this year, and the selectboard is currently considering them. A bond vote would be needed to fund the estimated $13.4 million project. “I think this is a very similar project,” said Unrath. “When I was interviewing, it was one of the things I was excited to see. The plan is really well thought out.” A native of Sarasota, Fla., Unrath had come to Shelburne from a director role at Middlebury’s Ilsley Public Library, and prior to that had worked in Albuquerque, N.M. It was in college in Florida when he first considered a librarian career path, nudged
Kevin Unrath started as director of the Dorothy Alling Memorial Library last week. OBSERVER PHOTO BY JASON STARR
by a suggestion from his step-mother, who was a school librarian. “I was always going to the library growing up as a kid, which I didn’t realize was somewhat weird,” he recalled during an interview Tuesday. “I took a job at the local library and never looked back.” Unrath earned a master’s degree at the University of Illinois, and later married a native of Vermont. The couple has settled in Jericho with their two children. Unrath left his job in Shelburne in 2023, having seen the library construction project through to completion, navigated the challenges of the pandemic and served a stint as president of the Vermont Library Association. “I felt like there was a lot that was packed into those six years,” he said. “I felt like we were at a good point to hand that position off.” Unrath has worked for the Vermont Department of Libraries
for the past two years as a consultant to libraries across the state. Mostly small and serving rural communities with volunteers and part-time staff, Vermont’s libraries rely on the department’s support and expertise. “I could provide guidance from a place of having done it before,” Unrath said. “I really enjoyed it.” But Unrath began to miss being part of the daily operations and programming of a local library, and interacting with patrons. He’d had his eye on DAML as one of the most dynamic and well-supported libraries in Vermont — and he knew about the expansion plans. So when Jane Kearns retired as director last year, Unrath jumped at the opportunity to apply for the job. “I was more interested in it when I finished the interviews than when I started, so when I got the call, it was hard to say no to,” he said. “I’m really excited to be here.” The library will be hosting an open house on Thursday, May 8 from 6-8 p.m. as a chance for residents to meet and talk with Unrath and learn about the library’s expansion plans. Joining Unrath at the event will be Town Manager Erik Wells, library architect John Hemmelgarn and members of the library’s board of trustees.
Meet-and-greet Meet new Library Director Kevin Unrath and learn about library expansion plans. WHEN:
Thursday, May 8 6-8 p.m. WHERE: Dorothy Alling Memorial Library
NOW SERVING BREAKFAST Tzatziki Breakfast Bowl
AVAILABLE 8:00-11:00 A.M. DAILY
WWW.WILLISTONOBSERVER.COM
The sign welcoming people to CVU High School.
2 CVU students face expulsion from U.S. in immigration crackdown
VTDIGGER FILE PHOTO
Federal judge intends to thwart deportation attempt BY OLIVIA GIEGER VTDigger Two CVU students may be forced to leave the United States after an order in March from the Department of Homeland Security suspended a legal parole program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans. However, last Thursday, a federal judge said she intends to block the department’s move. The two CVU students are originally from Nicaragua and have been in the U.S. for less than a year under the program. The Department of Homeland Security prematurely ended the program on March 25, giving people 30 days to leave the U.S. The program is set up to allow for two years of legal residence in the U.S.
Boston-based U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani said in a hearing last Thursday she plans to prevent the premature end of the program for individuals already here, though she said she would not require the program to accept new applicants.
“My interpretation is that the goal here, really, was to scare a lot of people into self-deporting.” Brett Stokes Vermont Law School
The students’ family plans to comply with the order and exit the country by the end of the month, according to Christina Daudelin, a student and see STUDENTS page 8
258 Market Street & Shelburne Road, S. Burlington Maple Tree Place, Williston
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