ELYRIA — Before there was Google, there was librarian Rose Burton. And before some simple keystrokes turned up links to Web pages, Burton used research skills to answer the question at hand.

“She was Google before there was a Google,” said Debbie Pillivant, spokeswoman for the Elyria Public Library System.  “You name it, and Rose could point you in the right direction.”

Burton, 57, is the only reference librarian who has worked in the Elyria system for 30 years, making her the longest-employed librarian in its 138-year history.

She has been there through 8 mm films, microfilm and card catalogs. She has helped usher in computers and the Internet, and has sadly said goodbye to tried and true, but outdated equipment.

She is a whiz at finding nuggets of knowledge buried deep within the World Book Encyclopedia, but can navigate the Internet with equal ease.

“When we first got computers, we librarians were like, ‘No, we are not going to use them,’ but now you can see this place is more than just the three computers we first got to catalogue the inventory,” she said. “I can definitely say technology is the biggest change I’ve seen.”

Now, Burton spends time answering questions online in the statewide Web portal, KnowItAll, where librarians from across the state answers questions in real time 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“But I’m still a book lover,” Burton said. “When other staff members go to the Internet, I usually try a book first. After all, that’s what we are here for.”

For Burton, it all started in 1978.

A substitute teacher in need of a permanent full-time job, Burton said she applied for the position with the mindset that she would stay there until a job at a local school district opened up.

But after two years, Burton said, she was hooked, going after her master’s of library science degree at Case Western Reserve
University.

“I couldn’t leave the challenge. The questions peopled asked me, and the ability to help them find the answers, became too rewarding to just walk away from,” the Grafton resident said.

Many of the inquiries Burton is used to fielding involves the who, what or where of the library. Yet, when specific answers are needed to some other question — that’s when Burton gets to flex her reference know-how.

“She embodies the essence of the reference librarian,” said Janet Stoffer, director of the Elyria Public Library. “She can help people navigate through the information maze and really get them moving in the right direction. It comes from knowing where to look, having a search strategy and wanting to help people find things — and not because it’s just your job.”

That’s because for Burton, it’s more than just job.

Patrons who walk to the reference desk in search of help or who simply want to use the public computers are often greeted by Burton. She knows frequent users by name, and she can sometimes even recite their schedules, noticing when they are early or late.

It makes a visit to the main library on Washington Avenue a little more personal, Burton said.

“There was a time when we thought computers and the Internet would keep people from the libraries, and librarians wouldn’t be needed anymore,” Burton said. “But we soon learned that you still have to have the staff to operate the technology. There is no reason to leave. I love my job.”

Contact Lisa Roberson at 329-7121 or lroberson@chroniclet.com. 

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