Safford City - Graham County Library Staff

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Jan Elliott - Library Director

Jan Elliott has been the Director of the Safford City - Graham County Library since 2004, when she moved to Safford from Phoenix. Elliott has a Master's Degree in Library Science and has worked at other public libraries (Winslow and Clifton) as well as academic libraries (SUNY Binghamton, ASU and U of A). She enjoys the rural setting and the friendly citizens of Safford and is very happy to be in the Gila Valley.

Previous to coming to Safford, Ms. Elliott served as a consultant to rural libraries through the Library Development Division of the Arizona State Library and Archives. She served in this position for 12 years with responsibilities in managing the state library's continuing education events for public librarians, statewide library statistics collection and publication, strategic planning for rural libraries, the Arizona Summer Reading program for children, and many other projects.

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Vicki Foote - Library Assistant

I'm Vicki Foote and I've lived in the Gila Valley for 34 years. I have worked in libraries for the past 14 years and have been with the Safford Library as a Library Assistant for 4 years. I am involved with Early Literacy as a teacher of Every Child Ready to Read. I teach parents and caregivers about brain development and give information that will help them get their children ready to go to school and be successful. I love teaching in the library, at High Schools, at WIC, and for community agencies that work closely with children aged 0-5 years. It is so wonderful to make a difference in a child's life. I also teach the statewide databases to librarians and to students and teachers in schools throughout Graham and Greenlee Counties. Sally and I work together to bring these valuable resources to the schools in our communities.

I am married to the love of my life and have two married sons. I have 4 grandchildren - 3 girls and 1 boy. I love to spend time with my family and go on wonderful vacations. I like to drink coffee in the early mornings, travel, and a host of other things too numerous to mention.

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Sally Holguin - Library Assistant, Spanish Outreach Specialist

I have been with the Safford Library for almost 22 years and I enjoy my work as a Library Assistant.

I enjoy the community I live in and meeting so many people that come into the library. In having a diverse community, I wanted to find ways to get involved with Spanish Outreach. I now provide Computer classes in Spanish and provide the Early Literacy "Every Child Ready to Read" program to different organizations and Spanish speaking parents and caregivers. I have also begun to incorporate programs such as El Dia de Los Ninos and Dia de Los Muertos into our annual programs.

Among other functions I do, I also partner with Vicki Foote and teach the statewide databases to Librarians, students and teachers in schools throughout Graham and Greenlee Counties.

I have 4 children and 10 grandchildren. 3 of my children and all of my grandchildren live out of Safford. My vacation times are spent visiting and enjoying my time with them.

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Giane Powell - Library Technician

I've lived in Safford for 42 years and no, unfortunately, that's not my age.

I've worked at the Safford Library for 19 years. As a Library Technician, I am so lucky to be able to share my love of books with children. My main duties are Preschool Storytime, Toddler Storytime, and outreach to preschools and daycare centers in the Safford area.

I'm a wife, mother and grandmother. In my spare time, I love to quilt, scrapbook, read, garden and spend time with my family.

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Alice Barragan - Interlibrary Loan Specialist

I was born in Silver City New Mexico. My parents moved to the valley when I was five years old and Safford has been my home ever since. I am married with two sons, and three grandchildren. I have enjoyed being an employee of the library for the past twenty years. It has been a great experience. My title position at the library is Library Technician. My job duties are Interlibrary Loan which is the main part of my job. This is the process by which a library borrows or supplies material to another library. And this function is done for a customer when the material they are looking for are unavailable at our library. Other job duties include Customer service, book orders, mail, shelving.

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Joan Miller - Children's Services Coordinator

I provide programming for all children from K-12th grade: Teen Program (weekly), Family Night (monthly) & All tours involving children.

And of course all the other jobs that need to be done in our library.

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Laura Haynes - Adult Programming Specialist

I'm a native Tucsonan, and had lived there most of my life until one day my husband received a job offer here in the valley. Living here since 2005 has been a good life changing experience. I have been here at the library since last October as a Library Aide and I must say I have some cool responsibilities. My main focus is planning, and organizing the adult programming. Meaning bringing in fun, creative and exciting programs for the community. I also create and write policies and procedures for the library. Last but not least I am in charge of the document retention for the library. I love spending time with our patrons helping them find a great book to curl up with or helping them on our public computers. Whatever the task maybe it is truly a joy to be able to work for the city and the great staff here at the library.

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Brandon Knight - Library Aide

Brandon Knight is a library aide at the Safford-City Graham County Library. He holds a weekly storytime for preschoolers, and is also in charge of library magazines and book processing. Brandon has always been a bookworm, diving into everything from "Where the Wild Things Are" to "To Kill a Mockingbird", and loves helping the community. He is studying to further his career as a librarian and in his spare time is an amateur writer and filmmaker.