Cara McCoy took over as the Harmony Public Library’s director in September; on November 24, the library held a meet and greet for their new librarian. Cara, who has been a librarian for six or seven years, grew up in Waukon and attended Iowa State, earning a degree in history. After graduation, Cara worked at a Living History Farm and at Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee. She ended up moving into a full-time position at a local library for several years.
Cara and her husband Ryan had moved to Tennessee so Ryan could work as a character artist at Dollywood. During that time, they got to personally meet Dolly Parton.
In 2020 the McCoy’s moved back to Iowa; Cara took a position at the Waukee Public Library for two years and at the Rippey Public Library for three years. During that time, she earned her Master of Library and Information Science degree from the University of Alabama online.
The McCoys returned to the Harmony area to be closer to Cara’s family in Waukon. Ryan and Cara have been married 12 years and have a four-year-old son, Logan. Ryan continues to work as a character artist.
Cara replaces Stephanie Morse who retired after 24 years; previously Paula Smutny Michel held the position for many years. Cara appreciates the work Stephanie and Paula did in creating a vibrant library in Harmony and hopes to remain in her position for many years as well.
One of the things Cara most likes about the Harmony Library is the layout, the windows and the natural lighting. Even with a book fair going on, there is plenty of space in the library.
The library moved into the town’s former elementary school in the 1990s. As a result, the spacious library has space for a dedicated computer lab with six computers, a copier, scanner and fax machine. Across the hall is an activities room used for story time and crafts, meetings for many organizations and even ladies’ work out sessions.
When Cara arrived in Harmony, the town already had three established book clubs; two of which met at the library. The popular children’s story time is led by Assistant Librarian Alayna Holets from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday. Thanks to grants applied for by a former director, a well-stocked crafts area supplies the needed materials for story craft extensions.
McCoy wants to work on outreach more at the library. The pandemic had shut down outreach during Covid. She has reestablished monthly visits to Harmony Kids Learning Center and the nursing homes. She also wants to collaborate more with Harmony’s businesses, the Garden Club and the Arts Board.
Cara plans to hold adult craft classes and family craft classes once a month. In December, the adult class will be December 16 from 6-8 p.m. and the family crafts session will be December 22 from 4-6 p.m. McCoy encourages teens and adults to let the library know what types of classes they are interested in having.
The Scholastic Book Fair which was held December 1-6 was a joint effort of the Fillmore Central Community School and the Public Library. Profits from the fair were taken in the form of books to add to the libraries’ collections. In the future, Cara wants to reach out to FCHS to collaborate with and serve it as well.
Harmony Library has begun a limited “things” checkout, offering puzzles and a few other items. Calling it a “work in progress,” Cara hopes to expand the offerings in the future. Eventually, Cara would also like to offer computer classes.
Patrons of the Harmony Library are well aware of the benefits of SELCO. “We love to be a member of SELCO,” Cara enthused. Through SELCO books, audio books and other resources can be accessed from member libraries across the state.
The Harmony Library has a great audio books section; most of the books are on CDs. Many patrons are also very familiar with borrowing audio books online using the LIbby app and OverDrive.
Community involvement is important to the library. The library has sponsored a tree for the Holiday Tree Lighting, helped with Breakfast with Santa and will be giving away books at the Holidays in Harmony December 10 from 5-7:30 p.m. at the visitor’s center. A movie night complete with a snow globe craft will be held December 30 from 6-8:30 p.m. at the library.
Obviously, Cara keeps very busy in her new role as the Harmony Library director. In her spare time, she enjoys reading (of course!) She also enjoys sewing and crafting; she even sewed her husband Ryan’s tent for Ren Fairs.
When asked her favorite genre of books, Cara couldn’t limit herself to just one. She enjoys Christian and historical fiction as well as fantasy. Her favorite book is “The Help” by Kathryn Stockett. If asked to recommend a book, Cara is likely to suggest any book by Kristen Hannah. Cara was quick to add, “But it really depends on the person!”
Cara encourages everyone to come visit her at the library; she can’t wait to help you find the perfect books and resources!
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