Kayleigh Septer has climbed her way through the library ranks

Mt. Pleasant Public Library Director Kayleigh Septer has worked at the library for more than 10 years. Over the years, she worked her way to the top.

Before starting at the library, she had already had a knack for working in the space from her time at Iowa Wesleyan.

"I started working at the library over at Iowa Wesleyan when I was an undergrad," Septer said. "Really, when I was Wesleyan, I wanted to go into museums. That was my thought, but working at the library was where I wanted to be while I was there because we didn't have a museum on campus other than the Harlan-Lincoln House. The library was where the active work-study was."

Post-graduation, Septer was no longer allowed to work there as she was no longer a student. She then came across a job posting at the public library. It was a job for the children's department desk clerk.

Over the years, she moved from position to position in the library, eventually deciding to go back to school to get her master's degree.

She began school in 2014 and finished a degree in Library Information and Science in 2016.

Following graduation, she became the first reference librarian that the library had ever had. She became a full-time employee in 2018.

In 2020, the director left the position, so Septer decided to take a shot at the position, and the rest is history.

"The former director left in September of last year," she said. "I decided to throw my hat in the ring and ended up getting the position. It's been kind of a wild ride rising through the ranks."

She has been there through it all. According to Septer, one of the most trying times was the director leaving.

"It's a learning curve," she said. "I came from moving up in the ranks, but I still didn't know anything behind the scenes. I had to learn how to pull reports, do budgets. That was the most difficult. It was difficult for the staff, too, because we didn't have a director, and I was doing the work but trying to figure out how to go about it. It was hard, but we got through it."

The coronavirus pandemic was a hindrance to the library.

"When it first started in March of last year, we closed the library for a few weeks," she said. "We were still in the library working doing different things. Some of us were working from home. We were still getting information out to the patrons but in a different way. A lot of them are using our online services. We reopened a few months later, and we're at a limited capacity trying to figure out how to get back to serving the public without making anyone feel unsafe."

The library is now fully opened with a few restrictions.

For Septer, the best part of the career is helping the community and patrons of the library.

"I think the best thing is getting the patrons what they need," she said. "Knowing that they're leaving with what we can give them. Even if it's not what they exactly wanted or needed, at least we've tried to help them in some capacity. I know they're very grateful for the help we give them."

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