Evie Rhymes with Heavy

This is the ninth edition of JTPL Stories: a series of interviews with library patrons, staff, and partners. Continue below to meet the faces of JTPL with our Outreach Coordinator, Aliya! Click Here to read the entire series.

Evie Cross, one of our most dedicated and enthusiastic volunteers, loves to introduce herself with a catchphrase.  “I used to tell everybody ‘Evie rhymes with heavy,’ ” she told me with a laugh. “ ‘and Cross, well I try not to be.’ ”

After almost three years of seeing her at the library, we certainly wouldn’t describe Evie as cross. In addition to all the ways she helps out around JTPL, she always brings levity and fun with her weekly visits. “ ‘Gosh, doesn’t she have a serious bone in her body?’ ” she joked. “ ‘Nope, the serious bone ended up in my feet and went on out the door!’ ”

Evie has volunteered just about everywhere at our Jeffersonville location, from the Makerspace to our technical processing room to our circulation office. Now, she puts together hundreds of our monthly event brochures, labels new book purchases before they’re shelved, and helps out wherever else she is needed.

Evie does the odd jobs around JTPL that our librarians and clerks can’t when they’re busy helping patrons and running programs. “I like to be busy,” Evie told me. When I spoke to her for this post, she told me she loves to volunteer around Jeffersonville as much as she can.

In addition to coming to the library on Mondays and Wednesdays, Evie volunteers with the Salvation Army on Tuesdays and Thursdays. She found the opportunities through HopeSI’s Retired Senior Volunteer Program. The local organization helps seniors find opportunities to continue impacting their communities after they retire.

Before volunteering at JTPL, Evie worked at the Census Bureau on 10^th Street. She originally signed up for a temporary position, but she liked it so much that she decided to stay on for 25 years. After retiring, Evie wanted to continue finding ways to be involved in community service. So, she responded to a request for volunteers at JTPL.

“I did not realize what all the library entails,” Evie said. “I’ve learned a lot… I’m from a little town in Ohio with a little library. You just had books, that was all. And I loved books, but they were only open certain hours, because a volunteer opened the library and closed the library.”

Now, Evie’s favorite job is working with our newly purchased books, DVDs, and CDs in our acquisitions office. “I thought the books probably come in, they probably unbox them, and then they stick them on the shelf,” she told me.” I didn’t realize you had to stamp here and add a barcode and put it all in the computer.”

There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes at JTPL, and all of our volunteers are important pieces of it. Evie enjoys being a part the work and takes her position seriously: “I don’t make my doctor’s appointments on Mondays and Wednesdays,” she said. “The dentist, if I get an opening on Wednesday I say, ‘Nope, I can’t make it because I’m at the library.’ ”

We hope she knows how important she is to us as well, both because she helps keep the library running and because she keeps our librarians smiling.

Thank you to Evie and all of our volunteers! JTPL wouldn’t be the same without you.