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The Barrington Area Library

A Tribute to Barbara Sugden

Barbara Sugden is the perfect person to paint a picture of the past 40 years at the Barrington Area Library as well as comment on its future. She knows its history well, having served as both head librarian and executive director and has just recently retired after serving the community through many different programs for more than 30 years.

In her time with the library, Sugden has been instrumental in paving the way for new programs and ideas. Through her hard work, as well as the dedicated efforts of other staff members, the foundation that has been created in terms of programming and outreach is strong. These fundamentals position the library well for meeting needs of the community well into the future.

Although Sugden first came to work there in 1975, she knows that it was in 1969 that a referendum was passed which made the library a “public library district,” serving a 72- square-mile area. With the additional taxes coming in, the library began buying more books, and Sugden recalls the entire building being packed tight with them. Finally, in 1975 a bond issue was passed for a new building, and in 1978, the first phase was complete, becoming the library’s new home.

Sugden says, “In 1983 we automated our circulation system.” Internet service was then added to the facility in 1995. Luckily, Sugden happened to hold a degree in Library and Information Science, so she had already been introduced to computers in her graduate program and was able to lead others through the learning curve. “At the time I was the ‘tekkie’ on the staff,” she says with a chuckle. Technology continues to be an important facet of the library to this day.

The library expanded its physical location in 1993, doubling the space to 60,000 square feet—which is its current size. The library has come a long way from 1975, when they had 41,047 books on the shelves. Today there are more than 276,000 for patrons to choose from—but it isn’t just the books that draw people here.

“People really do use this library as a community center,” Sugden says. She remarks that in the early days, it was mostly women and children that used the facility and that when men started coming in, she knew that the library had really become a success. The teen program has also been extremely successful. “Today nearly 1,000 people come through our doors each day,” says Sugden. The library was even chosen to be in a book, A Day in the Life of a Librarian, which focused on Barbara Sugden and used the Barrington Area Library as a backdrop for local resident Roger Ruhlin’s photography.

Over time the library has done an excellent job of serving such a broad area and has implemented various programs that are still in effect today, such as their homebound delivery service. Another forward-thinking idea, the “book drops” at various locations in the area help make it convenient for patrons to return their items. They have also come up with a locker system and other creative book delivery ideas to help make it easy for people to check things out online. “We are also developing a ‘library activity center’ at the Barrington Park District,” says Sugden. She foresees things like these as steps toward opening library branches sometime in the future.

Several things have remained fairly constant throughout the years, such as the library’s newsletter, “Check It Out,” which helps keep residents informed about the latest happenings. Popular programs that have stood the test of time include their annual Cultural Program, which takes place every January, and the Second Friday’s program, which offers concerts in musical styles such as folk and jazz.

Through the bulk of this time there has been one thing that has been consistent at the Barrington Area Library—Barbara Sugden. The head librarian turned executive director will undoubtedly be missed by the community that she has served so well. The good news is that she will still be around as a patron, watching the programs she helped to create blossom and flourish. She says, “I have a lifetime library card, and I plan to use it.”