7/26: Svetha Hetzler

Library Director

Sun Prairie Public Library

1. What is your work background? What company/organization are you at now?

I have been with the Sun Prairie Public Library for just over 7 years and have been a librarian for over 26 years, since 1995. I’ve always loved libraries and in particular, public libraries. I was born in India and raised in Queens, New York. As an immigrant, my family did not necessarily have much in terms of material wealth but our weekly visits to the library were very important to us. They provided access to all the amazing books I read as a child. Every time I entered the library, I felt like I was walking into a special place. I continue to hear this from our patrons today, that there is just this “special feeling” they get when they enter our library.

2. What do you like most about being a member?

Being connected to the larger community. The community is really the heart of the library so getting to know other community members through the Chamber allows me to be part of something bigger. I also appreciate knowing how the library may be able to help and collaborate with other Chamber members and events, like Cornfest!

3. What's your biggest (or one of your biggest) professional accomplishment(s) so far?

The Library’s expansion and renovation will certainly be my biggest professional accomplishment when it is complete in 2025. There are several phases in this large project and each has been its own accomplishment, including the Architectural Analysis in 2018/2019 and the Conceptual Plan which was completed this January.

I’m also very proud of establishing a Racial Literacy Plan and a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Advisory Committee to the Library Board. In August 2020, the Sun Prairie Public Library Board endorsed our Racial Literacy Plan which received local, regional, and national attention. It is an action plan that helps guide staff in the following areas: 1) staff development, 2) policies and procedures, 3) collection development, 4) programs, and 5) representation. We also recruited community members to serve on the DEI Advisory Committee so that the Library Board and staff continue to advance, honor, and celebrate diversity, equity, and inclusion in all areas of our work.

4. When you're not working, how do you enjoy spending your time?

Reading is an obvious answer but very true! I also love to cook, do yoga, and play and watch tennis!

5. Where are you from? Where did you go to school?

I was born in India and immigrated to New York as a young child. I went to grade school and high school in New York and earned my undergraduate degree from Boston University and my master’s degree in Library and Information Science from the University of South Florida.

6. What's the biggest career challenge you've had to overcome?

I would say providing public library service during a pandemic. Balancing the health and safety of staff and patrons with a continuity of service was new territory and in the first few months, it felt like the landscape was changing daily. When we first shutdown, we knew very little, including if it was even safe to handle library materials. For the first few months, we were quarantining materials and we had piles and piles of library materials in bins throughout the library. We went from a place in the community where everyone was welcome to come and stay for as long as they’d like to a place where we were delivering books to our patrons in the parking lot and offering programs online. All of these contact-free services took a lot of staff time to coordinate, organize, and manage. Despite the physical, logistical, and procedural challenges of working during a public health crisis, the emotional challenges were even greater. Making sure staff felt okay, emotionally and physically, weighed and continues to weigh heavily on me. And of course, finding and learning alternative ways to help patrons despite the fact we were closed was very challenging and stretched us all. Luckily, we were slowly able to open up and reintroduce and reinvent the ways we delivered library services. But challenges often lead to discoveries and opportunities. I’ve learned how important it is to be flexible and resilient and also how much our community values our library and library staff.

7. What career advice do you live by? Who gave it to you?

My advice is to always strive to do good work. I’m not sure that it is specifically “career” advice or just plain life advice but my father always would simply say “be good, do good”. He said it when I was growing up, said it to me as an adult, and would say it to my kids. It’s something I always remember and try to live by. I’m also a Sun Prairie Optimist Club member and I keep their creed in my wallet because it is relevant and useful every day. One of my favorite statements is “to be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own”. As a library director, I feel like I have that opportunity daily through my staff. I truly enjoy seeing my staff get excited about their accomplishments and projects.

8. Who/what inspires you?

I am fortunate in that I have many people that inspire me, but I would have to say my biggest inspiration is my husband. He is an extremely disciplined and hard worker. As a musician and music professor, he is always discovering and challenging himself into new worlds through his composing, artistic collaborations, reading, teaching, and through his students. He really embodies life-long learning, which is the mission of the Sun Prairie Public Library.