Katie Sayler says goodbye: Library board member signs off after 40 years

Sometimes people think a library is just books, Katie Sayler said. 

Within the halls of this public institution, people take Tai Chi. Some people do arts and crafts. Others use its vast resources to find their next job.

“There’s so many other things that people have a chance to do at the library,” Sayler told the Coeur d’Alene Press. “It serves what the community needs and wants.” 

After helping orchestrate library operations for 40 consecutive years, Sayler, 79, has now reached her final chapter. On Wednesday, she signed off from her position as a longtime Coeur d’Alene Public Library board of trustees member.

Sayler was first appointed to the library board at 39 by former Mayor Ray Stone and the City Council in 1986.

“I’m feeling sad that it’s come to an end,” Sayler said. "But I’m excited for new people to have a chance to serve and represent maybe a voice I haven’t heard.”

Sayler is a generational Kootenai County local. Her father homesteaded in Harrison in the 1880s. Her mother’s family moved to Coeur d’Alene in the 1920s.

Sayler graduated from Coeur d’Alene High School in 1965. She then graduated from the University of Montana in 1969 before earning a master’s degree from the University of Idaho in 1983.

Sayler’s academic accolades led her to teaching. She taught English and history at Post Falls and Coeur d’Alene high schools. She also taught classes for the University of Idaho and Boise State, as well as in the corporate world.

When Sayler was appointed to the library board, she served with former Library Director Julie Myer at the library's former location, 201 E. Harrison Ave. That building is now used as a St. Vincent de Paul help center.

“You have been a great mentor to me on the board, and with so much institutional knowledge, I’m sure we will reach out to you every now and then because there are some questions that we sure don’t have the answers to and maybe you will,” Current Library Board Chair Jim Windisch told Sayler on Wednesday. “Thank you so much for your years of service to the board. I very much appreciate it, and I know the trustees appreciate it as well.”

To complement her beginnings, Sayler helped facilitate the creation of the Coeur d’Alene Library Foundation. She also speaks highly of helping establish the current Coeur d’Alene Public Library, at 702 E. Front Ave. 

However, plenty of public contention preceded the 2007 construction of the city’s modern $6.6 million library. 

What was eventually financed through a voter-approved $3 million bond, city reserves and a major campaign led by the Coeur d'Alene Public Library Foundation, Sayler said, included locals who thought the city didn’t need the new library because society was entering a more digital age. 

Public support, however, prevailed.

“People lined up to talk at the microphone about what the library meant to them,” she said.

Sayler said this was the most joyful memory of her tenure on the board.

“Because the people of this community were so fabulous,” she said. “They stepped up, they worked for fundraising, they worked for every aspect of getting the bond passed. It was just something people wanted to get behind, so having that come to fruition was totally amazing.”

Sayler also described not-so-great times as a library board member.

The Aryan Nations infamously maintained a compound near Hayden Lake from 1973 until 2000. During this time, Sayler and the local library were affected by their presence.

“Like the Aryan Nations harassing staff and having to be police escorted back and forth to work and how we dealt with it,” she said. “They would come into the library, and books would leave that talked about the Holocaust. They never disappeared before they became so active here, and they never disappeared after they left. But during that time, we had a hard time protecting collections we had related to minorities."

Sayler spoke about keeping composure during these trying times, saying, “Our city government was very supportive in those situations.” 

“Sometimes, when you don’t see it coming, it takes you a minute to get yourself together to realize what you're dealing with,” she said. “Sometimes, we have to ask for help.” 

Sayler, who has two daughters with her longtime partner, George, said she looks forward to continuing to “read voraciously” and applying her time to other pursuits and hobbies, like painting, drawing and birding.  

When asked if her final day on the library board will be remembered greatly, she said, “of course.”

“It will be very meaningful, very special,” she said. “It’s a very special group of people to work with.”

    Longtime Coeur d'Alene Public Library Board of Trustees Member Katie Sayler during her final meeting on Wednesday.