Over nearly half a century, Boulder resident Judy Volc’s Storytime for Kids has become something of an institution at the Boulder Public Library.
“She read to me when I was in elementary school or even younger,” said Boulder resident Kellie Coe. “For me, she just made me excited about reading and storytelling.”
But Wednesday morning, Volc will read her last book during the popular Storytime session after library officials told her she couldn’t do it anymore.
Valerie Maginnis, who became Boulder’s library director last spring, said she is changing Storytime so that library employees, not volunteers, will handle the program.
“This will provide an opportunity for us to grow our staff and to make opportunities for them to become very proficient with children’s programming, and Storytime in particular,” Maginnis said. “It’s an opportunity for our organization to grow and groom more Judys.”
She said the change also is being made to ensure consistency with the Storytime schedule.
“I can’t hold volunteers accountable,” Maginnis said. “I can hold staff accountable.”
Maginnis said there wasn’t any particular problem with Volc’s leading the program, which she has done for the better part of the past 50 years, and praised her longtime service.
“It’s astounding to me that her activity was sustained for such a long period of time,” Maginnis said. “It’s an amazing contribution on the part of a volunteer.”
Volc started working at the Boulder library part time while she was a student at the University of Colorado. She shelved books and worked in circulation. She later became the children’s librarian, a position she held for 30 years before her job was eliminated in 2003 as part of a cost-cutting effort.
Even in the wake of forced retirement, which drew protests from the community, Volc continued to volunteer as the Storytime reader twice a week at both the George Reynolds and Meadows library branches.
“I’m really into connecting kids with the books,” Volc said. “Reading is something I’ve always thought was very important.”
Volc said she was taken aback when the library director told her that staffers were taking over Storytime. She said she asked to be able to read books to children on other days of the week that wouldn’t interfere with the staff’s schedule.
She was told she could not, but she’s not sure why.
“While I was working, I taught children’s literature at CU and (the University of Denver). I spoke at national conferences,” she said. “It’s not like I don’t have a pretty good reputation in the field. It’s really what I do. It’s always been about the books and the kids.”
Felicity Wong, a Boulder resident, said she learned how to read stories to her girls by mimicking Volc.
“We used to go to the library time and they loved her,” Wong said.
