For generations, the Bowlby Public Library has been a service to the community via one thing: books. Fast forward to current times, and the library now provides books, computers and several programs and activities for a range of ages to participate in.

There are more than 11 programs held at Bowlby. From Lego Club to yoga classes, the public library is a versatile service provider to the Greene County community.

Movie Nights, one of the many well-attended events, according to Kathy McClure, executive director of the Bowlby Public Library, used to be a monthly event, but to reach more attention to those in the community, it is now a weekly event, held every Wednesday night.

“I think people are really catching onto [movie nights] and it’s kind of fun,” said McClure.

McClure has been a part of the library for 24 years. Back when McClure was a young mother, she noticed an opening on the staff at the library took the opportunity to fill it.

“I thought ‘It might be nice to work at the library’ I could have the best of both worlds, I could teach children but at the same time I could do collection development,” McClure said. “What better place? I love books, so I just decided to come here and I have been here ever since, and that’s been 24 years.”

McClure reminisced about her childhood memories of going to the library with her family.

“It was one of my most favorite things to do,” McClure said.

Growing up in the community, McClure always had a special place for the library.

“I have the best of interest in the community, it’s very important to me to see this library succeed and become not just meeting the needs of everybody but to be viable in our community,” McClure said.

McClure has heavy passion for her job. She loves coming up with ways to cater to those in Greene County and make the library an important part of the community.

She’s doing so not only with books but with other services that can make a difference in the community. One of the biggest factors to that catering is the internet services Bowlby offers.

“One of the things that I think is most important about our community is that we’re a very rural area, so there are not very reliable internet services in most of the areas,” McClure said, “and so we’re able to fill that void here at the library by providing internet services for customers who may not be able to have it.”

McClure’s goal with some of the library programs that are provided is to spark an interest in children and for them to find their place in the library with one of those programs.

“Most importantly, because we are so rural and we don’t have a lot of activities for our young people in our community as far as roller rinks or movie theaters or even a bowling alley,” McClure said. “There’s really nothing for our young people to do so we really try to fill that void by providing programming that will meet the needs of school age children especially.”

McClure said the library tries to meet individual needs as well as general interests.

“We try to provide programs that will bring them to the library, get them interested and give them some place to be,” McClure said. “They can come, they can be safe here, they can have a good time but they can also be fulfilling a lot of their own personal needs as well.”