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Published on 04/20/1998 All articles from this issue

Carol Tefft retires after 35 years as head librarian

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By Joanne Griffith Domingue

Town Crier Staff Writer

On Friday, Carol Tefft, 62, retires after 35 years as head librarian in Los Altos. Even though she loves her job, several things nudged her toward retirement.

"There are a lot of exciting new librarians coming up, and we old-timers need to give them space," she said. Tefft also wants to spend more time with her two grandchildren, travel and "start a new life." And, having seen "how important volunteers are to this community, I want to do that, too."

When Tefft began in 1963, the library had seven full-time staff and was in a storefront at 355 State St. The less popular books and magazines were stashed across the street in a little house.

When someone made a request, "We'd go over and fetch it. Stuff was stored in the bedrooms and living room," Tefft said.

Today the library includes the Woodland branch, has a staff equivalent of 29 full timers and sparkles as the jewel in the crown of the 10-library system of Santa Clara County.

"I just marched forward and never took a breath," Tefft said. Twice during the 35 years she took off six weeks - for the birth of each son.

When she and her husband arrived in Los Altos from Kansas, plans for a new library at the civic center had been approved. In May 1964 she and her staff moved into the new building.

Tefft said she never imagined she would stay in Los Altos for her entire career. "I thought I would move along, like everybody does, after five or six years. But the area was changing rapidly from a rural to an urban county. And the library was changing accordingly. There were all kinds of new things that had never been tried before," she said.

Tefft is known for her openness and excitement about trying new things in the library, from the Internet today back to phonograph records years ago.

"Los Altos was the first in the county to have records to check out," Tefft said. "The Friends of the Library (a group of volunteers) funded that. The first records were classical - they had to be worthy. But soon we were adding popular records, rock and musicals. We bought all the early Beatles' stuff. Some more traditional librarians were very shocked at what we were doing."

The next project Tefft began was a photo copier in the library, for public use.

"That got a lot of static. But the Friends (of the Library) said they would underwrite it. In no time it was making a profit. It all seems so funny now."

Tefft doesn't just try new ideas, she welcomes them. That's the kind of librarian she is known to be. People throughout the county library system speak of her with awe.

"She trained me," said Susan Fuller, head librarian for the entire county system.

Tefft "embraces change so well," said Cheryl Houts, the children's librarian in Los Altos since December. "She'll always say, 'Gee, that's interesting, let's explore it.'"

It is little wonder that Tefft was a leader in bringing technology into the library.

"The Internet has made an enormous difference," she said, of information now available. "That and databases give us access we didn't used to have."

The Los Altos library, with 18 computers with graphics capability in the adult section, has about three times as many computers as other libraries in the county system. It "is still one of the few libraries with a computer for public to come in and use for their own use, at no charge," Tefft said.

To help patrons with computers, Tefft began a docent program in 1994. The 30 docents offer a two-hour Internet class, Tefft said.

"The strong docent program is not at any other library," Houts said. "This community has been a pioneer."

Tefft's computer expertise and Internet knowledge is well known. In fact, she teaches Internet courses at Foothill College. And she has tested the software filters under consideration for use in the county library system.

Tefft's first activity after retiring will be volunteering with the Friends of the Library to work on their book sale, the same day that she retires.

She wants to be remembered as one who "always looked for better ways to serve the public. We've changed a lot, but we've grown a lot."