At its annual Staff Day on October 13, Harford County Public Library celebrated its team and honored 44 staff members for various years of service. The celebration was held at Evolved Catering & Events Center in Fallston.
 
“Harford County Public Library has incredible staff members who go above and beyond each and every day to provide the best possible service and resources to our customers. Their dedication and professionalism make our library system the very best,” said Mary Hastler, CEO, who also provided a state-of-the-library presentation at the celebration. “Staff Day is such an inspiring gathering that honors all staff members. We also recognize those achieving significant milestones over the past year, from anniversaries to awards to educational accomplishments. Congratulations to everyone on the Harford County Public Library team for an awesome year.”
 
Library staff members were honored for years of service ranging from two to 50 years. Among those honored were Denise Sconion from the Havre de Grace Library, for 50 years of service; Valerie Harris, Administrative Office, 45 years; Rhovonda Fax, Joppa, 40 years; and Kathy Cogar, Administrative Office, 25 years. Celebrating 20 years of service were Megan Baker, Administrative Office; Karen Claypool, Abingdon; Cheryl Goodwin, Edgewood; Wendy Grossman, Fallston; Keith Niederberger, Administrative Office; and Pam Taylor, Joppa.
 
The Roenna Fahrney Recognition Award, named in honor of Roenna Fahrney who was Library director from 1957-78, was established for all staff to salute the exceptional performance of other staff members, either individually or as members of a group. This is a peer-nominated award, and individual Roenna Fahrney Awards were presented at Staff Day to Julie Wood, Aberdeen; Julie Carr, Havre de Grace; Kristen DeLambo, Whiteford; and Valerie Harris, Administrative Office. The Roenna Fahrney group award winner was The Traveling Library at the Bel Air Library.
 
Staff Educational Awards were also announced. Participating in the Library Associate Training Institute program in March were Julia Clifton, Joppa; Cara Meserve, Fallston; and Miranda Spivey, Aberdeen. Several staff members were recognized for receiving their Master’s in Library and Information Science over the past year: Melisa Bosse, Aberdeen, Pennsylvania Western University; Amanda Gergely, Abingdon, University of Maryland College Park; Cate Isert, Abingdon, Dominican University; Colleen Kessler, Bel Air, University of Alabama; and Amber Shrodes, Administrative Office, Pennsylvania Western University. Frank DiBeneditto, Abingdon, received a Bachelor of Science degree in History from University of Maryland Global Campus.
 
Staff Day was chaired by Zachary Herzog and Julie Parsons. Serving on the planning committee were Charles Ross, Becca Addington, Elizabeth Bowker, Jennifer Button, Rhovonda Fax, Robin Fiastro, Alyssia Gilmore, Jason Mathis, Jamie Reilly and Dylan Salsbery.
 
Harford County Public Library operates 11 branches located throughout Harford County offering access to ideas that inform, entertain and inspire. Last year the Library interacted with its residents more than 12 million times – borrowing free materials, visiting branches and the website, using free WiFi, and attending classes and events. In 2024 Harford County Public Library received the Maryland Library Association Excellence in Marketing Award for graphic excellence for the second time. For more information, visit HCPLonline.org.