Patt Olsen, Library Director My career with the Centralia Public Library began when I moved to Centralia and took the job as story time teacher.  I taught that for 2 years prior to being hired as the director.  I have worked in the Director’s position for 6 years so far.  I am a graduate of Cole Camp, Mo high school and hold a Bachelors degree of Fine Arts from Warrensburg, Mo.  Working as the Director of the Centralia Library has been by far one of the most personally rewarding and surprising careers I have had.   I have held employment positions with Wil-Rich Manufacturing and American Airlines.  I was in managerial positions with Cutco Industries and AAA Travel.  However, the library position is so diverse and fun that I truly can say “I get to go to work today!”

Trish Admire, Interlibrary Marketing Manager I'm a native of the state of Louisiana (geaux Saints!), but moved to Missouri in 1985 with my parents.  My husband (Marty, a native of Mexico) and I will be married 22 years in March and between us, have four kids and three grandkids.  We moved to Centralia in 1997 and our two youngest kids (Amy and Josh) are graduates of Centralia High School.  I've been a part of this library for 10 years and can't imagine a better place to work.  I've learned so many things that not only make my job easier, but have found ways to make the library experience better for our patrons.  A couple of my "jobs" here is ordering adult fiction (YEAH!!) and being a part of summer school activities.  I've learned a lot about how important it is to impart information to our youth and watching the interest and enjoyment from them when they "get" it.  It's been a joy and pleasure to work here and I hope I have many more years of working in an awesome library.

Amy Hopkins,  Reference Librarian I've been with the library since 2003, I am in charge of ordering the Non-fiction & Reference titles in our collection.  Over the past couple of years my duties have expanded to include "Computer problem fixer", newsletter & website creation.  I am married (19 years!) with a daughter who is getting ready to start college in the fall (& a great kid).  I have 2 crazy dogs and love to read!  One of my favorite websites is Goodreads.com, click this link to see what I'm reading!

Rachel Dollens, Story time teacher & Youth Services Librarian Hi!  My name is Rachel and I have been with the Centralia Public Library for 3 years.  I am the youth librarian which means I am in charge of storytime, summer reading program, any programs for kids age 0 to 18, ordering books for this age group and anything else that might involve infants to high school!  I have been married for 7 years to my husband Dallas and we have a 3 year old daughter and a newborn daughter!  I graduated from Mexico High School in Mexico, MO and then went to Moberly Area Community College and received my Associate of Arts Degree.  I also attended MU for one year where I was planning to major in early childhood/elementary education but had to stop because of family reasons.  I absolutely love children and reading!

Becky Wilson, Librarian Hello everyone!  I started working part-time at the Centralia Public Library in August 2009, but I have been the full-time Library Media Specialist for Chester Boren Middle School since 2008.  Both libraries are wonderful, and I enjoy the diversity of each library.  Currently, I live in Centralia with my faithful companion, Oscar.  Oscar is my four-year-old chocolate lab, and he is very happy that I finally completed my Master’s Degree in Library Science and Information Services from the University of Central Missouri in May 2009.  My previous career paths involved being an event coordinator in Warrensburg, MO and a travel coordinator in Naperville, IL.  I got my undergraduate degree with a double major in Music and Tourism from UCM, so I play the clarinet and a little bit of guitar and have traveled through 15 different countries, including the U.S.  I love variety, adventure, challenge, and change, which means I have enjoyed everything I have tried so far, but I especially love being a librarian.  It seems like a perfect fit, and I feel very lucky to have two amazing jobs and some really fantastic coworkers.

Dawnelle Peters, Student Librarian

Shannon Grenke, Student Librarian