By Derek Schlennstedt
Keepers of catalogues, defenders of the Dewey Decimal system and custodians of all things literary; librarians are among some of the best and most important people in any reader’s life.
A library is only ever as good as the people that work there, so it’s no wonder that the Belgrave Library has become such a popular and enduring part of the hills community.
If you were to meander into the Belgrave Library you would find any number of these lovely and dedicated staff that makes the Belgrave Library the warm and welcoming hub that it is today.
Judy Wolff is one of those librarians and over a 30 year career has helped hundreds of Belgrave residents find what they were looking for, even if they weren’t sure what that was.
Speaking to the ‘Mail’ Ms Wolff said she was always fascinated with the vast possibilities that libraries offered.
“I was doing my degree heading towards teaching and I used to see all the library students poring over papers,’ Ms Wolff said.
“At the time I thought ‘you can’t hope to know everything,’ but to be able to find information is a wonderful skill and so there was that thought – ‘I would love to know how to find information.’”
30 years later and Ms Wolff can find practically anything but she said technology has monumentally changed the classic library landscape.
As Ms Wolff described it isn’t just the technology that has changed – the way people use libraries and the spaces and programs they need to offer has also changed dramatically.
“In some sense it’s a lot less interactive because we now have self-checkout,” Ms Wolff said.
“That was quite sad as you didn’t have that little chat over the counter, but it’s been replaced by other things.
“We now have really strong activities and they’ve really grown – story time, literary activities and a lot of things going on for kids and groups.
“While the over the counter experience has diminished other activities have grown.”
At 66 Ms Wolff has no intention of slowing down and spends much of her down time doing aerial acrobatics with Ruccis Circus.
Turning the page on a 30 year career, Ms Wolff said she has relished the opportunity to work within her community and was adamant that books would remain an important part of society.
“It’s the enjoyment of helping people find information that gives me enormous satisfaction,” Ms Wolff said.
“I’m positive books will not die.
“Nothing beats the feel, the weight and the smell of a book … it’s something primeval, it’s a comfort ritual and everyone just loves a good ole fashioned book.”
