Catherine Bass (Jericho Town Librarian)

Catherine Bass: The New Face at Jericho Town Library

by Phyl Newbeck

It’s ironic that Cathine Bass started working at the Jericho Town Library this June just as wildfires from Quebec began fouling the town’s air. Bass is sensitive to wildfire smoke and chose New England as her home because of the air quality but JTL’s new librarian isn’t going to let a little smoke get in her way.

Bass has experience working in both public libraries and school libraries and believes that JTL combines what she likes about each. “I love that a public library services the whole community and that you get to work with people of all ages,” she said “but in school libraries you get to deeply know your community and patrons. This library is so beloved by the people who use it that they use it heavily, but that use is spread among people of all ages.”

Bass’s journey to Vermont has included stops across the globe. Her father was in the U.S. Army, so she travelled a lot as a child including middle school and high school in the Mideast. “I’ve always loved to travel,” she said, “and I was really interested in living abroad as an adult.” After high school she returned to the states and with no specific career plans, she studied ancient Greek and Latin. “There was no obvious next step other than graduate school,” she said, “so I tried teaching English as a second language.” That lead to a job in Finland teaching kids in grades first through sixth.

Bass enjoyed teaching and knew she wanted to keep working with kids, so she went back to school for a Master’s in Elementary Education. She taught fourth grade for a few years but recognized that some of the things she liked about teaching also pertained to library work. The travel bug kicked in again and Bass got a job teaching library and technology classes to students in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in South Korea. The library classes centered around foundational literacy skills, information seeking strategies, research skills, and media literacy skills. Covid struck and although Bass was impressed with how the government handled the pandemic, she had already decided to move back to the states. She and her husband ended up in Bozeman, Montana.

In Montana, Bass worked as a library assistant on a bookmobile and although she enjoyed it, the pandemic limited the services they could provide. The couple wanted to return to the northeast where they both had strong support systems and also to escape the wildfire smoke. “I became interested in air quality issues when we lived in South Korea,” Bass said. “I’ve done a lot of research on information dissemination on wildfires and secondary effects. I knew New England would suffer too, but I wanted to get as many years of clean air as possible.”

One of Bass’s best friends had moved to Vermont and was living on a farm in Peacham and working at the Morrisville Centennial Library. She encouraged Bass to look for a Vermont job and Bass’s husband agreed. For now, she is living in an apartment and commuting to Boston to see him on weekends, but he hopes to be moving to Vermont as soon as possible and at the very least, come north to visit her on weekends.

Bass’s first summer program was with the Four Winds Nature Institute, and it attracted 21 people. The library’s weekly summer programs include a Tuesday “crafternoon” for kids seven and up, a Wednesday morning family story time for families with kids five and under, Thursday morning story time yoga for kids three to six followed by a late morning playgroup for kids six and under, and a Friday morning drop-in maker club for kids seven and older. Recurring events include outdoor yoga with Ginny Churchill and musical story time with Miss Emma. Bass said she is really looking forward to a back-to-school carnival which will be held on August 19 and the annual Pet Parade which will also be held on August 26.

Bass admits she misses teaching a little because in school libraries, children are a captive audience whereas in public libraries, a bit more outreach is necessary. She is looking forward to finding more ways to engage the community. Bass said she has been impressed with how welcoming Jericho residents have been. “People have stopped by to say hello and to introduce themselves,” she said.

Now that Bass’s position is full-time, she is hoping to expand the services the library offers and is open to feedback about programs, events, and even library hours. This summer, Saturday hours are being extended from 10-2 to 10-4. Bass has heard the story of how her job hours were increased during Town Meeting and notes that one of the things she loves about the state is the way people are involved in local government.

“I feel very grateful that the town voted to make this a full-time position,” she said. “I would love to work in partnership with anyone interested in new programs or ideas. This is a great community space for people in town.”