Many children and families who recently attended elementary school in Nevada will easily recognize the Nevada Public Library’s new assistant director.
Emily Holm, 32, has taught in the Nevada district for about 10 years. She even did her student teaching at Central Elementary while she was still a student at Iowa State University.
“Nevada was not even on my radar until I was in college and did student teaching here with Janis Brendeland,” Emily said. Brendeland, now retired, was a longtime second-grade teacher at Central.
Emily grew up in the nearby Roland-Story School District and was a 2009 graduate of that high school. She attended Iowa State for a degree in education. Her first job after graduating was in the Hampton-Dumont School District, teaching 3-year-old special education.
She was then hired by Nevada Schools and has spent most of her time in a kindergarten teaching position, other than a few years of teaching multi-age 1-2.
Teaching was always a passion for her, but after becoming a mom, Emily realized she would enjoy finding something education-related that was less stressful and would allow her to save more of her energy for her own children and family. The Nevada Public Library provided that opportunity.
Emily isn’t the first person with a teaching degree to find a place at the library. Current Library Director Erin Coughlin also has a teaching background.
“One of the reasons I thought this would be a perfect fit for me is because of the relationships. Being a teacher, I’d formed so many relationships with families, children, and community members, and coming here, I can continue those relationships and also build new ones,” Emily said.
In considering all of the duties she’ll have as the assistant library director, Emily said she’s most excited about the following:
- Marketing – She’s excited to help with the library’s Facebook page, newsletter, sign, and more.
- Programming – She is especially excited about planning “adult programs,” which will be a new challenge for her.
- Interlibrary Loan Work – “I’ve been doing some of that already, and it’s really fun.”
Something else that’s new for Emily is that she’ll now be a supervisor of the three new clerks hired at the library. “Erin put together a training for the new clerks, and I went through that training too. It has been really fun.”
A few other fun things to know about Emily Holm:
Her family includes her husband, Jaccob (a 2012 graduate of Nevada High School and a middle-school teacher at West-Marshall Schools); and their three sons: Blake, 7; Luke, 3; and Hayes, 1.
Her favorite authors are Colleen Hoover, primarily a romance writer, and Freida McFadden, a thriller writer. “I love both genres of books, and I go back and forth,” Emily said.
Two services she thinks are really great that the local library offers: 1) the Spanish collection: “A lot of people don’t know that we have a pretty good Spanish collection, and it’s growing. 2) “Our Seed Library has been a great resource for community members, and our collection is always growing.”
What are her favorite hobbies outside of work? “Hanging out with my family is my number 1 favorite pastime. We like to go on hikes, visit different lakes, and be outside.” Also, while noting that she’s an amateur, Emily loves to take photos. “I was co-editor of my high school yearbook and that’s when I fell in love with photography.”
–Written by Marlys Barker, City of Nevada
