A new chapter has begun for the Garfield County Public Library District (GCPLD), after its Board of Trustees voted unanimously to appoint Abraham Korah as the next executive director. Korah resides in New Castle and brings a wide breadth of expertise and community-oriented leadership to oversee the six library branches, which span from Parachute to Carbondale.
“The executive director role is focused on relationship and community building,” Korah shared with The Sopris Sun. “This is really a wonderful opportunity for me to promote and bring the spotlight to the amazing work that essentially 100 colleagues in the library district are doing for the betterment of our communities.”
An internal hire, Korah served as the branch manager of the Glenwood Library for the past three years. Prior to that role, he worked in various academic and public library settings, including as a librarian and educational leader at Lone Star College in Houston, Texas, and as the library director at Colorado Mountain College (CMC) Spring Valley. At CMC, Korah connected with Jamie LaRue, GCPLD’s former executive director, who now serves on The Sopris Sun board, and admired his ability to directly meet the needs of the diverse GCPLD community.
“I got to know Jamie as a colleague when he was the new executive director for the district,” Korah said. “He was very generous with his time and I saw from a distance the impact he was having on the community.”
The opportunity for Korah to have a closer impact on a wider community arrived with the Glenwood Library manager position. He focused on daily operations, but most enjoyed community outreach and relationship building with his staff and patrons. With Korah as the manager, Glenwood saw a reduction in staff turnover.
“We added team members, but our turnover was extremely minimal. I think we had one person leave during my time,” Korah said.
“Our skills and knowledge grew as a team, which meant an increase in our ability to be more responsive in our programming, events, services and making sure we had the materials our patrons were wanting,” he continued. “I was most proud of helping that team develop cohesion and build our expertise. All of that really allowed us to meet the needs of the community.”
Under Korah’s leadership, the staff expanded programming and, ultimately, the library saw an increase in patron visits. He added that it also helped community members develop friendships, which helped result in return visits so folks could mingle while exploring common interests. Korah and his team also boosted inclusivity when they implemented a new layout, and at minimal cost.
“For our Spanish-speaking patrons we reconceptualized the layout of our collection to highlight our Spanish-
language materials,” Korah said. “We wanted to make sure that 30% of our community felt that sense of belonging in the branch. We wanted them to have materials, programs and events that were designed to specifically meet their needs.”
Reflecting on this accomplishment, Korah credited LaRue for spearheading the Spanish Services team and the Glenwood staff for their enthusiasm and desire to make Spanish Services part of the whole operation, rather than a special service.
As executive director, Korah — who holds a master’s degree in library science, a doctorate in educational leadership, another master’s in business administration and an undergraduate degree in finance — will rely on his deep catalog of skills, which include strategic planning, organizational development and team leadership, to bring the library district into its next phase.
“My role is to slow things down a little bit so we can make sure everything is working well,” Korah said. “We’ve been building. Now, we get to analyze what we are doing, and that requires a little pause.”
Korah said this phase is to help solidify the libraries so that they may continue to be responsive to the communities’ needs. He said that the library board is considering a 1.00 mill levy extension for the November ballot, and that communication about its intention and impact will be vital.
Noting the districtwide building refreshes (New Castle and Parachute are complete, Silt and Rifle are underway and Carbondale and Glenwood Springs are projected for the future) Korah said the renovations keep the libraries a safe and meaningful place to gather.
“We need to remain nimble enough to meet the future needs,” Korah said. “Our knowledge and expertise is bringing the community together. People come into the library for the books and resources, but what brings them back are the events and programming and our librarians and team. Those rich interactions that our patrons have with our staff keep them coming back.”