7/2/2009
By TIM UNRUH, Salina Journal

A passion for the past brought Judy Lilly to the Salina Public Library, but it's more about her future after today.

The librarian in charge of the Campbell Room of Kansas History for 19 years, Lilly is retiring.

Because it's time.

"I am of the age to retire. I want to do something else," said Lilly, 66. "I'm looking forward to it."

Her penchant for history endures, and she'll likely frequent the Campbell Room to do research, but now there's competition as Lilly devotes more time to her family, and herself. She and her husband, Dennis, have four daughters between them and nine grandchildren.

"I was fortunate to have a job that I loved. I will miss the sense of belonging here," she said. "It's a close-knit staff."

The library will bid farewell to Lilly in a public reception from 2 to 4 p.m. today at the library, 301 W. Elm.

Her knowledge, experience and ability to communicate with a variety of people will be missed, said Joe McKenzie, library director.

"The Campbell Room is an awesome collection of local and Kansas history. Judy makes it come alive and fills in the human element," he said. "She is a storehouse of information, and that can't be replaced."

A historian who has enjoyed learning about both the wretched limbs and the sweet fruit of her family tree, Lilly has always been curious about the past, and what it was like to live when life was perhaps more difficult.

"When it has some relevance to you, that's even better," she said in a March 23, 2008 Salina Journal story.

Smoky Valley Roots

Lilly is a former English teacher who wrote a local history and genealogy column -- Smoky Valley Roots -- in the Journal from 1979 to 1985. She did much of her research for the column at the library, and learned her way around the Campbell Room, which houses the library's collection of local and state history.

Lilly succeeded Mary Crowther, who died suddenly in 1990 after 27 years in the position.

She likens genealogy research to a mystery, with new information to discover each day, shreds of information that can take months to find or can be found with a simple click of a computer mouse.

Lilly is not done with history. She has a number of projects in mind, such as writing "short books on particular subjects, so I can start them and finish them in a reasonable time," she said.

Salinan wins Pulitzer

There are many in our midst who have done spectacular or unusual things, but have been forgotten, she said.

Among them:

nA man from the Falun area who became a physicist. "He did remarkable things within his field, made a name for himself," Lilly said.

nA Salina High School graduate who won a Pulitzer Prize for a cartoon.

Whether it's a short book or an even shorter booklet, "I'd like to get it down in permanent form," Lilly said. "There's no one place to go to find those things, and people like it all together in one place."

As a part of the information services department at the library, Lilly's position will be filled, McKenzie said, but in a more multi-faceted way.

All of the librarians -- six full- and one part-time -- are being trained to work in the Kansas Room as part of the information department, he said.

"Judy has been trying to make them more familiar with that collection, and they've taken to it," McKenzie said.

They are also involved in teaching classes and doing collection development work, he said, as well as information services, formally called the reference desk.

"This collection is for the community. I think people should be able to come in here and find whatever they want," Lilly said. "I hope that continues."

n Reporter Tim Unruh can be reached at 822-1419 or by e-mail at tunruh@salina.com.

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