Time has flown by too quickly. It seems like Steve just arrived at the G.M. library and now he is off to another job. The popular, hard-working librarian will be missed! Picture painted by local artist Jan Attridge
Grand Marais Public Library invites the community to attend a farewell party for library director Steve Harsin, who is resigning to accept a regional-level position in southeastern Minnesota. The party will be held in the library at noon on Tuesday, November 12, which is also his last workday.
Harsin accepted his position with the library in 2014 and has lived up to his reputation as a change agent. When the Arrowhead Library System awarded the library a Legacy Amendment grant to commission a sculpture, Harsin ensured the project moved forward quickly by supporting the Art Committee and managing the grant. Tom Christiansen’s Puzzle Tree sculpture has become a library landmark. Harsin’s experience as a collection manager has earned the library compliments for is collection, which is sought after by libraries throughout the state.
One of his favorite collection strategies is buying the first movie to make a performer famous. Since Steve arrived, the library’s technology and equipment has been completely refreshed, and library events skyrocketed in number and attendance. Another way Harsin promoted the library as a welcoming community space is by providing outreach services throughout Cook County.
Harsin’s work with Arrowhead Library System (ALS) goes back to 1991, before library automation had taken hold. Imagine what it would be like to wait an entire year to receive your shiny new library card! One of his most important contributions was finding a way to streamline the ALS centralized borrower registration process. Within a year, he had dramatically improved the process, achieving staff buy-in to reduce the turnaround time to one week.
While working for the Iron Range Research Center, Steve designed and executed a genealogy database website that was so desirable Ancestory.com paid to use it. For Cook Public Library, Harsin executed a radical weeding project that ultimately tripled circulation of library materials. When Harsin presents talks at library conferences, he is often urging small and rural libraries to “dream big, no matter how small the building.”
Steve began his career in academic and special libraries in 1982 and will need to draw on all of it for his next adventure as Southeastern Libraries Cooperating’s (SELCO) first ever Outreach Librarian. In this role, Steve will amplify his impact on intellectual freedom and information access by providing guidance to the 36 libraries in their system.
Everyone is welcome to say farewell at the party and sign a group card from the community.
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