McAlester News-Capital | C'mon! Read a book!

McAlester News-Capital | C'mon! Read a book!

Sauro smiles, recalling her elation at getting the position of head librarian in McAlester.

“I put a sign up at the library in Savanna saying ‘I got the job!’”

After arriving in McAlester, Sauro quickly grew fond of her new city.

“I liked it immediately. I loved the weather,” she said, recalling the frigid winters in Illinois. “People here were so friendly.”

Sauro has done more than make new friends since moving to McAlester. She’s also worked hard to make the McAlester Public Library the best it can be.

Over the past fiscal year, which began on July 1, 2005 and ended on June 30 of this year, the library checked out 139,185 items — an average of 465 per day.

“That’s books, CDs — everything,” Sauro said.

Library workers answered 16,800 reference questions and helped make 22,114 hours of Internet use available.

The library has 8,923 registered patrons, not counting the people who just walk through the door.

Sauro holds a stack of papers more than two inches high from people who have come in to use the Internet over the past year. Since they were often visiting or passing through McAlester and didn’t have or need a library card, they filled out a user’s form.

“They’re from California, Alabama, Texas, Nevada, Arkansas, Missouri, Arizona — even Guam,” she said, leafing through a few of the forms at random.