Thanks go to our retiring librarian
FOR 28 years countless local children have developed a lifelong love of books and reading, inspired by children’s librarian, poet, writer and performer Ray Stearn.
I caught up with him to find out more about the man who is remembered with affection and gratitude by local people of more than one generation.
After gaining a degree in librarianship in 1979, Ray took up a post with Kent County School’s Library Service and, as he says, ‘I have never done anything but children’s work since.’
In 1983 he was promoted to the post of divisional children’s librarian for Chatham and said: “I took over from retiring Joyce Horsley, who had been the librarian at Rochester when I was borrowing my books there as a child.”
The next year Ray became senior assistant librarian with special responsibility for children at Strood Library.
He said: “I found romance in the library when Chris came to work there. We have now been married for 27 years.”
Luckily for us, Ray and Chris moved up north in 1988 - ‘for no other reason than to go there!.’
He took up a temporary general branch library post in Calderdale, covering King Cross and Akroydon Libraries.
He told me: “The first morning there I got an invitation to interview with Rochdale council.
“This led to me becoming children’s librarian at Heywood Library and 28 years of working with children and young people in Rochdale, Heywood and Middleton.”
Ray has just taken early retirement/voluntary redundancy and said his goodbyes, although he added that he has ‘not left yet.’
He said: “I am able to give even more time to local writing groups such as Can O’ Worms Storytelling and,am continuing as chair of Touchstone Creative Writing Group.”
I asked Ray to outline the highlights of his time among us.
He told me: “Highlights would be the growing Rochdale Literature and Ideas Festival, The Stories We Could Tell and parents coming up to me in libraries with their children and saying ‘you used to read me stories in the library’ – I must have done something right.”
Ray has done a lot of things right! His contribution to The Stories We Could Tell project, enabling young people who have experienced traumatic experiences in their lives to tell their story, was invaluable.
Thanks go to Ray from the people of the borough whose lives have been enhanced by his storytelling and poetry.
We all look forward to his continued presence in the borough through local writing groups and the Literature and Ideas Festival.