He's closing the book

POST FALLS - Joe Reiss couldn't have written a better script himself.

Fresh out of library school, he banked on an experienced staff to make him look good as the Post Falls Library's director, but that wasn't what was waiting when he arrived.

Still, nearly 22 years later and with Reiss retiring on Monday, the library has become one of the most treasured features of the community.

"I knew nothing about running a library," he said. "I thought I'd find an experienced staff, but they said, 'We're so glad to see you because you know what you're doing.' They were all new hires."

So Reiss said that he and his staff "faked it" a few years before they got a handle on things.

"We told people we're faking it, but they refused to believe us," he said.

Reiss figured he would be at the library two years before he'd move on, but the staff, boards and patrons squelched that thought.

"It's been a great ride, and I owe it to the people who've served on the board for free, the people I've worked with and the rest of the library community," he said.

Reiss said every day has been a thrill coming to work because of rampant changes in the information world.

"The world's changing and we got to have front row seats," he said. "I went into library school with a typewriter, and I'm riding out on an electron."

Reiss said that he, the boards and staff have always surfed the technology wave rather than run from it.

When he arrived, the library's staff shared one computer and there were none for patrons. Today, there's 70 just for the public.

The library also has up-to-date technology such as an electronic check-out system and is divided into sections according to age.

City Councilman Scott Grant, who has been the council's liaison to the library for about 17 years, said Reiss has consistently sought new ways to serve the public's library needs.

"The Internet and modernization of the computer have just made the potential for new innovative programs more challenging," Grant said. "Joe met those challenges."

The library's current 21,500-square-foot building was constructed in 1998 and became an example for the city's future new facilities to follow. The former 4,400-square-foot building was at the same site along Spokane Street.

"Joe spent years in the planning of what he wanted in the new library and he seemingly lived at the library during construction, closely monitoring every detail," Grant said.

Another highlight was last year when Post Falls voters approved changing the facility from a city library to part of the Kootenai-Shoshone Area Libraries district. The move, which Reiss supported, will take effect Oct. 1.

"I sincerely believe the future of libraries is with library districts," Reiss said. "(Districts) are responsible for their own fate and future."

City Administrator Eric Keck said the library has created a sense of place in the community under Reiss' leadership.

"Joe will be missed as one who has worked diligently to keep the library as a central cultural and educational point for Post Falls," Keck said.

Reiss said he's proud of the results of a recent citizen survey indicating the public loves the library and that more than 80 percent have visited the facility in the past year.

"It's a wonderful note to leave on," he said.

Reiss, 63, said he's retiring from his post because it's simply time to move to the next chapter of his life. Rebecca Melton, who along with Cate Symons has been on staff since Reiss arrived, will be the library's interim director until the consolidation.

"It's time for me to move on, and it's time for the library to move on in a new direction," he said. "Those two events came together to bring a change about in my life that I'm ready for."

Reiss and his wife, Michelle, are preparing to sell their house, then they plan to move to the South, where Reiss will seek outdoor work.

Before becoming a librarian, Reiss cleaned chimneys and drove a garbage truck.

Reiss takes comfort in leaving a board, staff and community that embraces change and a library that's about to join a district.

"Information travels many paths - we've walked a lot of them - but it's just starting," he said. "I have no idea where it's going, but this is where I get off the trolley."