Sue Crites Szostak was presented with the key to the city during her last Poplar Bluff Municipal Library board meeting, marking the end of her 45-year librarian career and a decade of local leadership.
Mayor Steve Davis made the presentation, saying, “Literacy and knowledge are such an important part of any society, especially at the community level. Libraries bring hope, they bring dignity and they bring enjoyment to all those who enter.”
The library board also presented Szostak with a resolution highlighting her advocacy for free information, as well as her financial leadership, technological forethought and dedication to expansion.
“I can’t think of another director who’s been as impactful as you,” said Mitch Davis, library board president.
Szostak was “shocked” to receive the honors.
“It was emotional last night in the sense of the care that everyone in that room had. That meant as much as the key. The key to the city was symbolic of that care, and so as a result it’ll always be important to me,” she explained.
Szostak spent 41 of her 45 years as a librarian leading libraries in Missouri and Tennessee. Looking back on her time at Poplar Bluff Municipal Library, she recalled four significant challenges she and the library board faced.
First, creating policies from scratch when the library separated from the city of Poplar Bluff, then building up finances, developing teen and adult services programming and moving technology forward. The latter upgrades in particular put the Poplar Bluff Municipal Library on the map as an equal to larger Missouri libraries and a regional leader.
“I don’t think any director in any time could’ve worked with a better board for 10 years,” Szostak said.
She especially credited new director Shannon Midyett for applying features like radio frequency identification (RFID) to checkouts.
The resolution made her realize how far the Poplar Bluff Municipal Library had come in a decade.
“When you’re in the middle of it, you don’t really understand how much progress you made, and it wasn’t until they read the resolution last night that I realized, ‘Oh my gosh, we’ve come a long way,’” she said.
Like the mayor, Szostak believes libraries are vital to individuals and communities.
“It’s the first step to growth not just for the community itself, but also for the individuals who use the library. Because once you begin to learn, then the world opens up to you,” she said. “And once the world opens up, then you can embrace things, and you can grow, and you can move forward and then you can become a contributor.”