After 39 years of bringing the best and rarest books to Hillsdale, interlibrary loan technician Pam Ryan is retiring from her second home.

“I’ve seen so much change on campus — change for the better,” Ryan said, referring to the buildings that were torn and built, the student body, and the increase in faculty and staff. “The college is really my second home, and I’m glad I have gotten to work here.”

Ryan is originally from Jonesville, Michigan, and began working at Hillsdale College in 1984.

“My mother worked here in the library, and she told me if I wanted to work here, I could come up and get an application,” Ryan said. “So that’s what I did. I got hired, I think, the very next day.”

Ryan worked at the college’s postal center for 27 years before moving to the library in 2012. After a year in circulation, she shifted to her current role with interlibrary loans.

Ryan said she will work at her antique booth at the Allen Antique Mall in Allen, Michigan. She is also planning to volunteer with the Hillsdale Humane Society and continue working as a foster aid at Animal Branch County.

“Antiquing and thrifting — that’s what I enjoy doing,” Ryan said. “But you know, I love dogs and cats. And I thought maybe someday, I might volunteer down here at the Humane Society — helping with dogs and cats because they’re my passion. I just love them.”

Ryan also hopes to spend more time working with plants. 

“My other passion is planting flowers and plants and that kind of stuff around my house so it’d be nice,” Ryan said. “I don’t want to just retire and grow old.”

After Ryan’s husband retires, the two plan to travel. 

“My husband and I would like to travel to Montana,” Ryan said. “I’m not so much a fan of flying overseas. But I would love to go to Hawaii someday and travel out West. I like the West.”

Public Services Librarian Brenna Wade, Ryan’s supervisor, oversees library loan as well as outreach and technology. She and Ryan work together to collect articles, books, and other library items that need to be transferred from other libraries as well as to ship things out that other libraries need.

“It’s a constant movement of materials, and Ryan does the day-to-day running of that department,” Wade said. “It is very busy. We have a lot of requests. We move a lot of materials.” 

Ryan said there are some days when the interlibrary loans are difficult to fill.

“I really just dig and dig, and sometimes I just won’t find it — I put it on hold for the following day to get a clearer mind,” Ryan said. “And then I come right in here and boom, I can find it. It’s just that easy.”

Wade said Ryan’s role requires keeping track of all the little details concerning many materials and systems, and something could go wrong at any step.

“It’s not an easy thing to do, and we are definitely going to miss her,” Wade said. “But I wish her all the best in her retirement. She completely deserves it. It’s definitely going to be big shoes to fill for the next person.”

Ryan does not mind the work. She said it is hard to recall a favorite moment from her time at Mossey because she loves every moment of her job.

“The staff and the librarians that I work with — they’re all wonderful,” Ryan said. “I just go day by day, and I just enjoy every day.”

Ryan recalled some memorable, paranormal experiences she had during Mossey’s “witching hour.” 

“There have been a few times I’ve opened the library, and I was here by myself,” Ryan said. “You can actually hear chairs slamming out here on the first floor.”

Ryan said she would not see the chairs moving, but she could hear them, and she never heard a response when she called, “Who’s there?” One morning, she was sitting at her desk, working by emergency light because a storm had knocked out the power the night before. Through her open office door, she could hear chairs slamming outside in the darkness of the library.

“I looked out there, and I said, ‘You’re not gonna scare me this morning.’ And I just got up, shut my door, and that was that,” Ryan said. “I don’t believe in ghosts, but sometimes I want to.”

Wade said Ryan has been with her through Mossey’s digital transition during the Covid-19  pandemic, changes to the system that require a complete revamp of process, as well as getting international material through customs.

“She puts up with my ideas very well,” Wade said, laughing.

Sophomore Carolyn Spangler, a student worker at the library who helps Ryan with interlibrary loans, said she has great respect for what Ryan does for the library.

“The number of carts that are in her office is incredible,” Spangler said. “It’s almost like one of those puzzles where there’s only one stage left, and you have to move all of the stuff into place.”

Spangler said she enjoys working with Ryan and that she is thankful for all the time Ryan dedicated to the library.

“She’s very friendly, always willing to help,” Spangler said. “She’ll go out of her way to help find information for someone.”

Ryan said there are some days when the interlibrary loans are difficult to fill.

Colleen Ladd, the library’s circulation technician and a friend of Ryan’s, said she sometimes helps Ryan out with items from the Michigan eLibrary Catalog and Resource Sharing System. Since their desks are in close proximity, they spend a lot of time in each other’s company, and Ladd said she will miss Ryan next year

“It’s gonna be very hard, because she’s one of my best mates here,” Ladd said. “Most of us staff gals are pretty close. And she’s probably a little closer just because we work so much together. So it’s gonna be a real tough change. But I can’t blame her, you know— it’s time to move on.”

Spangler said she is happy that Ryan will be able to take a break from library busyness. 

“I’m glad that she’ll be able to enjoy some time on her own,” Spangler said. “It’s amazing that she’s been at the college for so long.”

Ryan said she is sad about leaving the Mossey Library community. 

“By working in the library, I’ve learned how the library field works,” Ryan said. “And it’s amazing — the things that staff and librarians do. We all work diligently, and we all work well together over here. I love my job, and I’m definitely going to miss it.”