SAGUACHE — After almost 13 years of service to the Northern Saguache County Library District, Director Sarah Koehn Frey will be leaving the library district on Dec. 22.

There will be two open houses to celebrate her time in service to the libraries, one at the Baca Grande Library on Thursday, Dec. 21, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and one at the Saguache Public Library on Friday, Dec. 22, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The library district was established in 2011. At that time, the district had about 1,200 visits per month. Over almost 13 years, the library now has 3,200 visits per month. The district attributes this to Frey.

In 2011, the libraries did not look like they do now. Frey, her husband Eric, along with many other volunteers worked hard to renovate and redesign the libraries to make them both look amazing. There were many upgrades made to the libraries including furniture, shelving units, new flooring, the lighting was also upgraded, and new office equipment was added. The improvements really made a difference and helped Frey form important relationships with the library staff and patrons who use the library.

Another accomplishment of Frey was her ability to build network relationships with not only library staff, but also other statewide agencies, for an expansion of library resources. As an example, the stand-alone collection of information at the library was about 15,000 in 2011, since then the district has been able to collaborate with libraries across Colorado to share regular and audio books and bring in DVDs. The new collection is now in the thousands for patrons to enjoy.

Frey has given many unique and wonderful benefits to her community. The district has stated that she has served the community with passion, joy, and genuine love for the libraries, staff, and her community. The district has also stated that she has provided exceptional work, with the finances for the district always being secure and carefully managed by her.

Frey has also worked hard to obtain grants and has done so much more than just provide a light and an open door to her community for these exceptional library resources.

The district wishes to extend their thanks to Frey for such exceptional work and dedication. The district has stated that she has made the libraries joyful work environments, where staff can follow their passions. She has also helped the district offer increased pay, healthcare benefits, and caring time off for staff members.

Frey’s job will be taken over by Matt Pettigrew, who will become the Operational Co-Director, and Amy Garoutte, who will be the Administrative Co-Director of the library district.

The public as well as the community are invited to attend the open houses to wish Sarah well and thank her for all her service to the library districts.

Included in the open houses will also be a book that everyone is welcome to sign and share memories of Sarah with. The book will be passed between both libraries during the open houses. For more information on the events, you may contact the Baca Grande Library or the Saguache Public Library.