After forty-three years spent as the friendliest gentle face behind the desk at the Washington County library, Doris Hoggard says that the time has come to leave her post.
“It’s been a journey but it’s time for a new one,” Hoggard says with a smile.
On November 20 the long-standing library clerk will officially retire, ending one of the longest tenures in the Pettigrew Library system’s history.
The daughter of Hildred and Matthew Bowens, Doris grew up as one of 14 siblings in Roper. While her siblings would later move and settle across the United States, Hoggard would remain close to home, starting a family and having three children of her own.
After graduating from Plymouth High School in 1976, she began her journey with the Washington County library just three years later in 1979. Initially, she says that she always wanted to work close to home and got that chance after being hired by Kim Varin for a full-time position.
From that point forward, Hoggard would become a loyal and dedicated mainstay of the Washington County Library as a full-time librarian clerk, just one position of many she has held throughout her stay.
In fact, the only time she recalls taking a break from the library in earnest was when her twin children were first born.
“I did leave for a bit when I had my twins,” Hoggard recalls. “I left the library for about two years, but I managed to get back in. I came back in to work the bookmobile routes, which lasted a couple of years.”
According to Hoggard, her time spent running the bookmobile routes was in service to the entire Pettigrew Regional Library system.
However, Hoggard believes she ended up making her return to the Plymouth Library under the leadership of librarian, and longtime friend, Amy O’Neal.
Of course, when one spends over 40 years working under close to a dozen librarians and administrators, some of the finer details are lost to the annals of history.
“I believe Amy O’Neal was in charge at that time. At least, I think it was Amy. There’s been so many librarians and good people that have come and gone,” Hoggard laughs. “It’s been a real journey and, yeah, some of the details run together, but these days I only think of the good.”
For Hoggard, most of those good and fond memories come primarily from the library’s many patrons over the years rather than its leadership.
“We have had so many good patrons that have entered our doors. I hope that I have served them all with kindness and compassion. I’ve always been a people person and I love people,” she says. “It’s always meant the world to me whenever I have someone to reach out to me, no matter how long it’s been, and say they always remember how well we got along, how I made them feel or the kindness I showed them… Those are the things I think about and the things I’m most proud of.”
Despite her perpetual optimism, Hoggard does lament how much the world has changed since she has been at her post. Specifically, she worries that libraries are losing the significance that they once had to local communities.
“There’s a lot that has changed since I’ve been here. It used to be that there were always so many people that would come in to do checkouts. But sadly, the reading, you just don’t have it the way we used to,” she laments. Hoggard adds that years prior, the library was able to bring in the community by being a source of reliable Internet access.
Unfortunately, even that appeal has lost its luster as technology has advanced and more and more people have more options than ever to reach the World Wide Web.
“When the computers came in, it brought in a lot of our patrons because most didn’t have the access. It’s a different time now. Just about everyone has them in their homes now or on their phones,” she muses. “The attendance just isn’t there the same way that it used to be.”
Still, she believes that libraries are an integral part of the community’s identity and provide an invaluable social fabric at a time where it is perhaps more necessary than ever before.
“This community needs this facility and I hope that they’ll continue to serve the public the way I have after I’m gone,” Hoggard says. “Things are different, but people are still involved in so much. They like to be involved and we still have faithful patrons that come in. My hope is that the library can be a bridge, a place where people can come together, plan things and keep things going.”
Although her service to the library is nearing its end, her service to others is something she aims to embrace post-retirement.
“Well, my hands are still going to be full,” she laughs. “My father is still living, he’s 96, but he’s bedridden and I’m going to be able to help my siblings out more with his care. I’ve also got my children who live all over… I’m also looking to do a little bit of traveling so I’ve got a few things to look forward to.”
