Spring would like to see broadband improvements

 

For the last two-and-a-half years, Kathy Spring has worked at the Socorro Public Library in the role of Youth Services librarian. She sat down with El Defensor Chieftain to tell us more about her story.

How did you initially get your position here?

That goes back to 28 years ago when I was first working here. I left to pursue another career as a business analyst at Aerojet Rocketdyne here in Socorro. When that came to an end I was approached by Chelsea, the library director, during a walk and she asked if I would like to come back and I said yes.

Having worked in Socorro for 30 plus years, is this city your hometown?

No, I was born and raised in Plymouth, Connecticut. I came out here initially with my ex-husband who was in the Air Force where we met and he got a job here at Tech which brought us here. In the end, he moved on and I stayed.

What made you decide to stay?

I just love the area. It’s a small town and the people here are incredibly friendly. But it comes down to the fact that I like small towns.

Did you come here straight from Connecticut?

No. We were stationed in Germany for a period of time. Then he was stationed in Alamogordo before we ended up here.

Do you have any children?

Yes I have two children, Anne Malone and Carl Spring. They are native Socorroans along with my grandchildren Jason Malone who is 19, Annabelle Spring-Knuckles who is 8, and Theo Demus-Knuckles who is five months old. I also had a grandchild Daphne Spring-Knuckles who passed away from cancer at 18 months old.

Do you plan on ending your career here or are there other opportunities you wish to pursue?

Oh yeah, I plan to stay here at the library before I decide the time has come to call it a career.

What is your favorite part about this job?

I love the people, especially the kids and getting them excited about reading. And of course, I love books!

As a librarian, what is your go-to book?

Oh dear, that’s tough. My favorite book probably goes back to my childhood. “The Borrowers” (written by Mary Norton). It was a tale about miniature people who lived in the walls of this house and would come out at night to borrow things in order to make their own little tiny place to live.

What is the best part of this library, and what would you like to see improved?

Our staff is amazing and our regulars young and old bring in such a great atmosphere. What we are trying to develop to improve the experience here is to create a young adult section that will allow teens to have their own space together. We are trying to create a space where that group of readers can be with their peers and not have to share it with the adults or the young kids. It can be their own.

If you could live anywhere else in the world, where would that be?

Outside of the United States, my favorite place was Amsterdam. It was so beautiful and another example of the people being so friendly. But other than Socorro, Alamogordo is the only other place I could really see living.

If you won big on a lottery ticket tomorrow, what would you do with the winnings?

I would stay in Socorro, help my family, and do whatever I could to help the community here.

Do you have a favorite movie?

The old version of “A Christmas Carol”. The one from 1976 that starred Alistair Sim as Ebenezer Scrooge. I still have a copy of that on VHS.

If you could go back in time and give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?

Breathe. Just breathe. It is so simple yet it takes a lifetime to finally realize how important that is every day.

Finally, if there was one thing you would change about Socorro, what would that be?

That is difficult. I think currently improving the infrastructure. In particular the roads as well as broadband which is a huge problem with the resources here as far as internet access goes.