There’s a new librarian in town: Nicolas Resteiner became the new manager of the Camp Verde Community Library in February, succeeding Kathy Hellman, who retired on Dec. 31, 2024 after 12 years in the job. Originally from Phoenix, Resteiner said that he and his wife were looking to move to a small rural town to raise their daughter. He had initially applied for library jobs in Flagstaff but later discovered the Verde Valley and the Camp Verde opening.
“It was a challenge for me,” Resteiner said of the job, which is his first managerial position. In Phoenix, he never oversaw more than seven staff, while in Camp Verde, he is in charge of staffing, recruiting and budget as well. He said his emphasis has been on being transparent and consolatory with his staff. “You won’t agree with all of them but I’m always willing to explain it,” Resteiner said of his decisions, and added that the library is nothing without the employees.
Resteiner said that his main priority would simply be to continue to provide the library’s regular services and that he did not foresee any disruptions to those services, which are funded by the Yavapai County Library District, while federal and state grants do not cover operational expenses. He did comment that the cancellation of the federally-funded Arizona State Library Summer Institute program, which trains rural library staff in new technologies and practices each year, was a disappointment. The week-long professional development program brings together rural library staff from different regions of Arizona to learn about new trends, technologies and best practices in the field, although Resteiner added that the cancellation will be unlikely to impair the library’s ability to recruit and train staff.
Resteiner also said that he was excited about hosting the Smithsonian Institute’s “Spark! Places of Innovation” exhibit, which will be touring Northern Arizona between June 14 and July 26, and which will make a stop at the Camp Verde Community Library during the tour. The program’s goal is to educate people about innovation in rural areas using local exhibits. The program’s mechanical components include six stand-alone sections of panels over a welded aluminum structure with exhibition elements that include video monitors including a touchscreen of youth-produced stories, a flipbook, three object cases, multiple mechanical interactive units, visitor comment cards, a “Citizen Innovation” game and digital stories with image recognition to display additional videos, images and text on mobile devices.
