Home Oakley Andrea Freyler: Oakley’s Charismatic Librarian

Andrea Freyler: Oakley’s Charismatic Librarian

by ECT

Frankly I wasn’t expecting to be wowed by the Oakley library. While technically one of the oldest libraries in the Contra Costa system, it was founded in 1913, my neighbors had warned me when I moved here a few years ago that the library was barely larger than my house. To make matters worse, that limited space has been shared with the students at Freedom High School for more than a decade.

Let’s do the math: 3,000 square feet divided by 2,500 students… plus the general public?  I’ll get my reading materials elsewhere, thanks.

It wasn’t until I heard about a proposed new library and learning center that I became convinced Oakley needed to upgrade.  Still, to be honest, I didn’t know what it already had.

Oakley Measure KI made the trek to the library a few weeks ago simply because I’d never been there.  The stand-alone building was easy to find, but my timing was off.  I entered the Freedom High parking lot frenzy just as school was letting out. Once inside the actual library, however, there was a welcoming calm of being surrounded by books and people who love them.

Before long the devoted librarians at the tiny Oakley Library, would make my first trip to do some library reconnaissance (for Measure K) an unexpected delight.

It would be easy to mistake Andrea Freyler for one of the teenage students in the library. She is young, trim, and has lovely long blonde hair. She often wears three inch heels, but never thick reading glasses.  In short, she is definitely not the stereotypical librarian. Her energy and friendliness are infectious.  She clearly loves what she does as the community library manager, and is excited there is a chance to do even more in the near future thanks to a proposed new library and learning center in Oakley. (Voters will see the $12 million bond measure, Measure K, on the ballot in June.)  It is tantalizing to imagine all she and the other staffers could do in a full-size, unshared facility.

Oakley-LibrarianAndrea is the fourth generation of her family to live in Oakley and she remembers when the library was in the sheriff’s substation. “It was a place of wonder. I could always count on seeing someone I knew since there weren’t a lot of places to go back then. You saw people at church, the grocery store, or the library.”   Not surprisingly, the current library feels a lot like the library she remembers.

Not all career paths follow a straight line. Andrea earned two degrees—in Liberal Arts and Psychology—before realizing her true passion was always in the library. “I loved searching the stacks, finding information, and reading about new things.”  Even before completing her Master’s Degree in Library Science from San Jose State, she applied for a library assistant position. It was the perfect fit for her on both a professional and personal level.

“I knew instantly that I had found my calling. In my job, I feel the same comfort that I had felt many years before at the Oakley Library.  I strive to show every patron that I serve the same warmth and kindness that I was given as a young adult.”

Andrea has worked in 18 of the 26 branches of the Contra Costa Library System, as well as the libraries at the Orin Allen Youth Rehabilitation Facility and Juvenile Hall that serve incarcerated youth.  It always comes down to the power of books. “I know that I am helping our future every time I check out a book to a child,” she says with heartfelt sincerity.

Andrea is a hands-on kind of librarian. You can find her working one-on-one with library goers to help them use programs and services.   “Nothing can be more empowering than teaching a person to use a computer mouse for the first time, or a teaching a student how to use the library’s databases for research,” she states emphatically.  Despite its limitations, the Oakley library manages to offer a variety of classes for all ages including family story time, a book club, and community meetings.  There was even a class on the schedule to teach henna hand-painting to teens.  Andrea is on hand for most of the classes doing what she loves… bringing people and ideas together.

Oakley-Librarian2On my last trip to the Oakley Library, I saw Andrea on her hands and knees in the uber-cozy Children’s Section as she tidied up after the Wednesday morning read-aloud session for pre-schoolers.

As the mom of three children herself, she knows how crucial it is to encourage curiosity and instill a love of reading early on.  She had been reading Monster Needs Your Vote by Paul Czajack about a monster’s run for the presidency. Even though the children are too young to understand what it means to vote for Measure K in June, it is clear this dedicated librarian is hoping a new library in Oakley will be a reality for them very soon.

Footnote:  Measure K will be on the June 7th ballot for residents of Oakley. It will ask residents to approve a $12 million bond to build a downtown library and learning center.  To learn more go to: newoakleylibrary.org

About the author:  Barbara Santos is the marketing director for the San Francisco Writers Conference and the author of three books.

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