A Director's Roots: Anythink's Pam Sandlian Smith
By Norman Oder Nov 15, 2010Rangeview Library District Director Pam Sandlian Smith has observed that Anythink, the quirky brand her library has embraced, reflects the values that her father shared with his kids: "A sense of practicality coupled with a sense of imagination and whimsy." But it also suggests the influence of her unusual path to and through libraries.
In 1978, Pam Sandlian, a waitress and would-be writer with an English degree from the University of Colorado at Denver, began work as a clerk-typist at the Denver Public Library (DPL). Moving up to library assistant, she soon learned she loved children's work, recalling how her mentors "just danced, like they invented roving"-a feature embedded at Anythink.
During 18 years of seesaw DPL budget cycles, she was frequently laid off, then rehired at another building. "Inadvertently, I got this wonderful education," Sandlian Smith recalls. In fact, her work as a copy cataloger inspired her contribution to the Kid's Catalog-featuring an early graphical user interface-later trademarked by CARL.
Sandlian Smith earned a promotion to librarian status even though she lacked the degree. When DPL elevated her to children's manager, she joined the first class of Emporia University's MLS distance education program.
Finding her voice
While in Denver, Sandlian Smith began attending the International Design Conference in Aspen, an interdisciplinary event that drew artists, architects, social activists, politicians, and others. "That resonates strongly to the way I think people should live their lives," she muses. "It should be interconnected. You should pay attention to style and design. That's perhaps something libraries haven't focused on as much as we should."
Embracing her new post, she found a grant for an enduring read-aloud program, and organized focus groups with kids to help plan a space in the central library expansion. "I am a person who always looks at things and says, 'How can we make this work better?'" she reflects.
The next step in the expansion plan: acclaimed architect Michael Graves, with his staff, brought preliminary designs to a group meeting. City Librarian Rick Ashton called on Sandlian Smith first. She gathered her courage, turned to the architect, whom she hadn't previously met, and declared, "We have to start from scratch."
And they did, creating a "sense of adventure and discovery" within a large space.
Moving on
Seeking another big project, in 1997, Sandlian Smith moved to the West Palm Beach Public Library, FL. There she embarked on a ten-year stint to transform an underfunded library and a building in decline. Adopting the hospitality planning tool G.A.S.P. (graphics, ambience, style, and presentation), leaders made over the library interior and graphics and shifted the service attitude. (See "Tropical Makeover," LJ, Dec. 2006.)
"I love working with talented, creative people in a collaborative way," Sandlian Smith says. She's inspired by Leadership Is an Art (Dell, 1990), a slim, heartfelt volume by Max DePree, CEO of the furniture company Hermann Miller, which encourages freedom and creativity.
"She literally wants to hear what every person has to say," suggests Rangeview public services director Ronnie Storey-Ewoldt. "And then she puts it all together and she'll come out with, 'Hmmm, what if we did this...?'"
Jamie LaRue, director of the Douglas County Library System, Castle Rock, suggests that Sandlian Smith's grounding as a children's librarian-"smiling, attentive, listening, a natural storyteller"-helps staffers open up and find playfulness in work.
In 2007, for family reasons, Sandlian Smith began exploring a move back to the Denver area. The job at Rangeview, some Colorado friends told her, would be a great opportunity, but the challenges were huge. It's made for a very busy three years.
"If I weren't a librarian, I think I probably would be a writer," Sandlian Smith responds when asked about an alternative career. "So if I weren't inventing libraries, I'd be inventing a community or a problem or a family. I think it's actually been more fun to make it happen in real life."
| Author Information |
| Norman Oder, former LJ Executive Editor, News, left in October to work on a book. He edited Pam Sandlian Smith's "Tropical Makeover" feature (LJ 12/06, p. 70). This profile is part of his feature "In the Country of Anythink" |
