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49 °F Forecast | Road Cams Monday, May 9, 2005 Today's News | Shop Our Valley | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery | Contact Us SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend May 9, 2005 Lee Michalak runs the Friends of the Library bookshop at the Jackson County Central Library in downtown Medford. Mail Tribune / Jim Craven Tending a new generation of readers By BUFFY POLLOCK for the Mail Tribune It’s not clear whether Medford resident Lee Michalak spends all her time volunteering at the Friends of the Library bookshop to get a peek at the great titles coming through, or she just can’t say "no" to those who need her help. The fact remains, however, that this week’s Hometown Hero, and Friend of the Year for Friends of the Medford Library, is credited with the success of the bookshop that has provided thousands of dollars of library extras this year. "I can’t even begin to guess how many hours Lee put into making it all work," said Friends of the Library member and shop sales coordinator Mary Curry. "She did all the organizing, the training � she’s just put in hour after hour after hour. We’ve already given the library a check for $10,000 in less than a year of being open, and we owe a big part of that to Lee." Michalak first volunteered to work a shift or two at the bookshop. Within days, the 58-year-old was asked to help get the shop up and running and manage it until things were settled. Advertisement With experience gleaned from a 30-year office-management career, she helped devise a color-coded pricing system and policies for the new store, recruited volunteers and sorted donations of books, audio tapes and DVDs, among other things. For months on end, her volunteer work was more like a 40-hour job — with overtime, joked Curry. But Michalak said she just happened to offer some of her time and bookshop coordinators took her up on it. "I knew they were going to have a book shop in the new library and they needed some help," Michalak said. "Of course I said ‘yes.’ I’m a reader, as I suppose most of the ‘Friends’ are. Michalak, who came to the Rogue Valley from Tucson, Ariz., five years ago with her husband, has helped build a volunteer base of 50 willing souls for the shop, which is open Monday through Saturday. She tops a list of "substitutes" and a volunteer coordinator position to keep track of it all. Truth be told, the admitted bookworm said her motivation for keeping the shop in good standing is more about guiding the youngest generation of library patrons to the same love of reading she has. "I think a public library is a magnificent place and I think reading is practically the most important skill you can have," she noted. "I guess I thought, if we had this book shop and the idea is we sell our books really cheap, it will be so great that kids in particular can come in and buy a book for 25 cents or 50 cents ... basically my whole motivation was that anytime you’re involved in letting people buy books, you’re helping someone to be able to get a hold of books they might not otherwise be able to get." Asked what she liked to do in her spare time, of course she said "read." And crochet "cat snugglies" for Committed Alliance To Strays’ cat shelter. While she was grateful for the recognition of helping with organization and details, Michalak said the shop would not be such a success without its many volunteers. "I put the time in to get it going, but still the results are thanks to the volunteers who man the shop," she insisted, downplaying her nomination for the Mail Tribune’s Hometown Hero. "I just can’t believe that there aren’t more people that do more than I do. ... Basically the success of the bookstore is really that I’m the tip of the iceberg. It’s the volunteers and even our customers that keep it going." Curry said Michalak could be modest if she chose, but "It was all her." "She won’t even say that, but there’s the old saying, ‘the buck stops here,’ and that’s where it stopped. She was who got it going," added Curry. "She’ll tell you all day long that she didn’t do it alone, but she was the true backbone." Buffy Pollock is a freelance writer living in Medford. 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