by Mari Radtke
Dallas Carey, a Marcus resident for 10 years, took on the Marcus Library Director positon three and a half years ago. While raising her children she operated a in-home daycare. That ended with the COVID-19 disaster.
As her kids grew and became more independent, she took on the challenge offered by the posiiton as Marcus Library Director. During these years Dallas is proud of the accomplishments and improvements to the library. Among those successes under her leadership the library has installed new carpet and shelving, The large print collection has expanded. Dallas is quite proud of bringing to the library William Kent Kruger. Kruger is an award-winning crime writer. His most famous series feature a character “Cork O’Connor” and set primarily in Missesota.
During Dallas’ tenure at the Marcus Library she gave it a kid focus. By adding attractive books and activities for youngsters, she explains how the Library is looking to its future. “The kids are the future library patrons,” she explains. Learning toys, legos, and other activities became part of the library ethos. Much of the costs of these improvements were not born alone by the Marcus taxpayers. She successfully attracted $35,000 in grant funding for the library.
Prior to life in Marcus, Dallas came with more than 20 years in the hospitality business. A recent opportunity from that industry presented itself. “It was a really hard decision,” Dallas said. It took a lot of calculating to finally reach the conclusion that this new hospitality opportunity is a good financial decision for her family.
A reception for Dallas was held Friday January 16 at the library. It was very well attended and really yummy treats were served.
The Marcus Library Board of Directors are recruiting for a new Director. They have their work cut out for them.