Featured SENYLRC Staff Member: Pamela L. Wolven

Pamela Wolven is the Business and Office Manager at SENYLRC. As such, she pays the bills, prepares and sends invoices to libraries for various services, works with other staff on grant projects, communicates with vendors, oversees everyday office needs, and supervises two staff members. This fall marks her 30th year at Southeastern. Because of her length of services at Southeastern, Pam has a full history of the Council’s many locations, activities, staff members, and projects as well as a history of the member libraries and member library systems. She has worked at Southeastern longer than any other Southeastern employee. When other staff needs to know about a long-term program, she has a wealth of information to share about time frames, people involved, and issues. She has spent many years learning the ins and outs of the Council’s members and usually can anticipate their preferences and special needs. She has met many people from the member libraries and has gotten to know many of them including those who have served on the SENYLRC’s Board of Trustees. It has always been a pleasure when they keep in touch even after they have changed positions or have retired.

Pam is a native of Dutchess County; she grew up in Poughkeepsie and graduated from Arlington High School. During her school years, her father was working for the National Park Service. He was a Guide at both the Roosevelt Home and Vanderbilt Mansion in Hyde Park. As a result of this, Pam got to see and know a lot about both sites. It even led to a summer job selling concessions at the Vanderbilt Mansion Visitor’s Center. One of the special highlights from this time was getting to live on the third floor of the Vanderbilt Mansion for a month while her house was being completed. It was exciting sleeping in a room with so much history and living in a place of such elegance. The views from the third floor were beautiful and watching the boats and ships on the Hudson was memorable.

Pam always had an interest in libraries and spent many hours at the Poughkeepsie Library District (Adriance Memorial Library) researching homework assignments and checking out books to read just for fun. She also spent a lot of time in the Dutchess Community College Library and the library at SUNY Oneonta while going to school there. After her college days she continued to take additional courses in accounting, computers and business. Business and accounting seems to be a family interest as well. Her brother, Fred Van Tassell, was the Mid-Hudson Library System Business Manager for many years until his recent retirement. When Pam began her career at Southeastern on September 9, 1974, the offices were located in the Mid-Hudson Library System building. Fred knew about the opening at Southeastern and passed the information along to his sister. Pam was interviewed and hired by Jane Fulton Smith, the SENYLRC Director. At that time she was an assistant and her duties included secretarial duties, light bookkeeping, invoicing, telephone, managing projects and benefits. The Council has grown and changed in so many ways over the years and it has enabled her to be able to experience all that has been and how far we have come today in offering services.

Pam has been living in Staatsburg since 1979 with her husband Bruce and 15 year old daughter Kendall. She just celebrated her 29th wedding anniversary on September 20th. Pam’s activities outside work include reading and helping her husband with his pool service and landscape business. She also loves being a sports Mom and watching Kendall cheer for the F. D. Roosevelt High School JV Basketball and Football Team, watching her play travel, town and JV girl’s softball, watching her dance recitals and watching her go for her black belt. When she is not spending time traveling for sports, her favorite place to travel to is the Adirondacks to relax, fish, swim, go boating and just enjoy the fabulous scenery. It is a place where time stays the same. She has traveled to many places with highlights to Hawaii, Europe and Chicago. Florida and Disney World has also been a regular stop starting with Pam and Bruce’s honeymoon.

Pam’s thirty years at Southeastern has given her many insights into our regional libraries. She is constantly promoting libraries and loves to share information about all the services that are available. Throughout her daughter’s school years she has been sharing library service information with her teachers to promote the use of libraries. She was also a trustee and treasurer for her local library, the Staatsburg Library. During her tenure on the Staatsburg Board, she received a distinguished service citation from the Mid-Hudson Library System as runner up for the Library Trustee of the Year Award. Pam feels that Southeastern always provides wonderful services and support to our libraries. We always encourage and look forward to all the personal contact, questions and help. We definitely love offering and providing a very personalized service.

Because of her experience, as well as her cheerful and helpful nature, Pam is the mainstay for the Council providing insight and service to others based on her long history in the library community of the Southeastern region of New York State. Her value to the Council is summed up by SENYLRC’s Executive Director, John Shaloiko, “Pam has been the bedrock of this organization since I have been here. She brings not only a knowledge of business and bookkeeping practices: Pam also comes with a unique sense of the history of this organization. I feel fortunate to have a person of this caliber working for SENYLRC.”

By Judy Fischetti, Member Services Librarian

Southeastern News Online is published bi-monthly by SENYLRC staff.