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“I looked at the demographics and the fact that library information and technology was changing and I realized there would be a lot of retiring librarians around the time I’d be getting into the field,” he said. “And there’s been a lot of opportunities that have opened up.”

Conklin, however, said it would require a great opportunity to take him away from Oakland County, where he has served as a reference librarian for more than 18 years.

At the July 2 meeting of the Shelby Township Board of Trustees, that great opportunity came calling when the Board approved to hire Conklin as the Shelby Township Library’s new library director, filling the position left vacant by Judi Chambers, who retired in May.

“Shelby Township was special because it’s such a great community, they have a great library and Judi Chambers had done such a great job over the years,” said Conklin.

Conklin will begin his work in Shelby Township on July 21. While he said he has done demographics studies and research on the library as part of his preparation for the interview process, he said he is looking forward to meeting with Shelby Township’s library staff and committee to discuss the plans that will begin to lead the facility forward under his leadership.

“I’m kind of on the outside looking in right now ... When I applied, I came in up with a bench-marking study, but it was very basic. When I start I’d very much like to get involved with sitting down with everyone, seeing what we have to work with and moving forward with everyone,” he said. “I’m not going to be making decisions in a vacuum, but I’m going to be talking with the staff and working with them.”

Conklin said that his first priority is to see an increase in the amount of traffic in the library and that the goal of any librarian is to make sure that the community is fully utilizing the materials made available to them through the library.

The current Shelby Township Library sits in a former school that also houses the Shelby Township Senior Center, cable television offices and the 41-A District Court. Over the past several years, plans have been discussed to eventually construct a new library facility, possibly on the township’s municipal grounds at 24 Mile Road and Van Dyke.

While Conklin said he understands the need, he said it is too early for him to determine whether that will be a priority once he begins work.

“Certainly you’re limited by the amount of staff you have and the amount of space you have in the building, which limits the amount of material you can have, and that’s something we are going to look at,” he said. “But I haven’t talked to anyone about the plans they’ve discussed for a new building or anything. I know (the library committee) has looked at it in the past, but I have not talked to anyone about that.”

Conklin said programs for the entire family will continue to be a priority for the library, as will embracing new technology. Internet usage has become a major draw for community libraries and Conklin said library staffs must learn to work with the new technology, not view it as a threat.

“There’s a misnomer about the Internet, that it’s kind of a threat to libraries. But the information superhighway, while it seems to be an outdated term, really captures the essence of what the Internet is all about. It can take you anywhere, but you really have to be careful because while there’s a lot of information out there, that means there’s a lot of bad or faulty information,” he said. “Librarians play a crucial role in guiding people to the correct information ... The Internet has sparked an information age and that’s what our job is, really, is to be information specialists.”