A library offers more than just books, but acts as a community gathering space for all that stop by.
It’s part of the reason why David Ulrich, the public services librarian at Glen Lake Community Library, has continued to work there since 2020. Besides being happily surrounded by books all day, the people-oriented job is as enjoyable as it is because of the patrons that Ulrich assists and meets on a daily basis.
“It’s a place where anyone can come, they can hang for as long as they want, and they can run into people, they can meet other people, it can be a middle ground,” Ulrich said. “We have a Mahjong group that utilizes a room and meets every Monday… they come and they play and they chat and have fun. That’s kind of what its all about, a place where you can come and there’s no obligation to do anything — It’s a playground for everybody.”
A haven of possibilities open to the public, people can certainly stop by to read or check out a book, but they can also gather with other colleagues, do research or study, or utilize any of the multimedia resources available for free.
The ability to check out and use these resources gives people a chance to access free of charge what otherwise would come at a cost. Services like Hoopla, an online digital service that allows people to use audiobooks, eBooks, comics, movies, TV, and magazines, is valuable to many throughout the year. Another convenient and free streaming service the library offers is through Kanopy, where people can watch movies, documentaries, foreign films, and more.
Ulrich is one of the first people that patrons see when they enter the library and head to the front desk. The job includes greeting visitors, assisting patrons with book inquiries, multimedia resources, and educating individuals about the numerous free resources available.
Working at a small town library, Ulrich has easily been able to get to know the people that visit. Many individuals and families are those that visit the area during the summer, while others are tourists or yearround residents.
“We get a lot of traffic of people who stop in and don’t want to check out books, but will use our kids section, or who just sit and read, or we have a book sale area, and we also have a selection of paperbacks that are kind of like a free library, but more like just grab it, read it, bring it back whenever, and if it doesn’t come back, it’s not the end of the world,” he said.
Ulrich attended Northwestern Michigan College (NMC) for a couple of years before transferring to Grand Valley University to study and major in creative writing. While Ulrich did not pursue writing after graduating with his bachelor degree, he found gratification in the library setting, lending his skills to assist the public.
His choice follows suit with what his mother, Tina Ulrich, has done in her career. Tina served as the Suttons Bay Bingham District librarian from 1998-2005, and later served as the fifth library director at NMC’s Osterlin Library from 2009-2019. With a wealth of knowledge and experience, Ulrich’s mother has been able to steer him in the right direction if he’s ever had any questions about the library and its vast offerings. Growing up, Ulrich had a glimpse into what a library career would entail because of the kind of work that his mother did, who has been his go-to reference librarian. Ulrich’s father is a psychologist, so both of his parents are and always have been “people persons.”
Being surrounded by books is a familiar scene that seems to never have left Ulrich’s life, either. When he moved back up north after college, Ulrich did a few odd jobs here and there, including working for awhile at Horizon Books in Traverse City. Just before the pandemic, Ulrich started working part time at the Traverse Area District Library in the computer center, as well as at Glen Lake Community Library, in 2020. While working at these jobs, the pandemic lock down was enforced, and library services went from busy to very quiet.
Ulrich said working part-time amid the pandemic meant the services they offered at the time were limited, but still very much needed in the community. Ulrich recalls the various safety precautions they had to take during the surreal time, including having to quarantine their books for several days before having them checked out by patrons to avoid transmitting any infectious germs.
“It definitely had a different sense of what the job would be before and after,” Ulrich said. “It was a lot less kind of one-onone physical interaction with the patrons, and it was more just like reference questions, providing things for people, and stocking things in a place where you can have a reasonable amount of middle ground.”
Ulrich’s job went from parttime to full-time in 2022 once the pandemic precautions eventually lifted.
These days, Ulrich’s average day-to-day tasks include more responsibilities, and of course, face-to-face communication, but its something he thoroughly enjoys and hopes to continue doing in Leelanau County.
