Traer Public Library’s new director Donna DeBoef, left, pictured inside the library on Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, alongside now-retired director Diane Panfil. DeBoef began job shadowing Panfil last September before taking over officially on Jan. 2, 2025. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

TRAER – Beginning this past Jan. 1, the Traer Public Library started authoring a new chapter in its story with Donna DeBoef officially taking over as Director following Diane Panfil’s retirement.

While she may be new to her role, DeBoef, 52, is no stranger to Traer as she has spent the last 25 years in the community raising her family while also volunteering with multiple local organizations and boards including one very close to her heart, the library board.

“I believe our library is truly the best,” DeBoef said in an email exchange with the newspaper earlier this month. “Working in a library has always been my dream job, so when I heard about Diane’s retirement, I was thrilled to apply for the position.”

The Traer Public Library Board approved DeBoef’s hiring during its July 17, 2024 meeting; she began working as a member of library staff in September while Panfil trained her before officially assuming the director position on New Year’s Day.

Prior to the library, DeBoef worked for Joe Morris State Farm Insurance. A native of Pennsylvania, she moved to Traer in 2000 after marrying her husband Jeremy with whom she shares three adult children – all alumni of Iowa State University.

In the quarter century she has lived in Traer, DeBoef has been active with the local Chamber of Commerce, B.A.S.I.C. (Brothers and Sisters in Christ), Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts, North Tama After Prom Committee, Friends of the Library, the Buckingham Cemetery Association, and the North Tama Athletic Booster Club. Beginning in 2014 and until recently, she also served on the Traer Public Library Board.

Through the years, a fervent love of reading and a desire to share that love with her own children has played a central role in DeBoef’s life with the Traer Public Library being a key part of that.

“I have always been an avid reader, and I enjoy reading a variety of genres,” DeBoef said. “I loved bringing my kids to storytime when they were little – to be part of my kids’ early reading experiences. Storytime can have such a lasting impact, helping to shape their relationship with books.”

Being an active reader is also core to her role as the new library director.

“This allows me the ability to discuss and recommend books and share insights on various genres. I always have an audio book I am listening to, as well as a stack of books waiting to be read. Recently I have been enjoying cozy mysteries, with their lighthearted and often charming stories.”

In terms of any changes, additions, or updates she plans to implement in her first year as Director, DeBoef said keeping the library’s focus on engaging the community will remain front and center with an expansion into more offerings for the community’s youth particularly adolescents.

“Having a broad spectrum of activities is key to keeping the library relevant and engaging for everyone in the community. While preschool and retired individuals are often well-served with our programs, reaching out to school-age kids and teens can be just as vital. Continuing to have activities and events for our community while expanding programs to incorporate school-age children and young adults is a goal for me.”

While DeBoef took the director’s helm when the library reopened on Jan. 2 following the New Year’s break, former director Diane Panfil’s last day at the library was on Friday, Dec. 27, 2024.

After four years as Director, Panfil elected to retire in order to relocate to central Iowa along with her husband, former city councilor Jon Panfil.

In her parting comments to the newspaper, Panfil expressed her own affinity for Traer’s elegant, brick library which stands today as one of 1,679 libraries built across the United States between 1886 and 1919 with donations from industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, according to the National Park Service.

“I love the Traer Library, and will miss it and our patrons, and the wonderful, supportive community,” Panfil said in an email. “We are so fortunate to have such a beautiful Carnegie Library that offers so much for our community and the surrounding area, and it has been my pleasure to serve as Director.”

It’s a sentiment Panfil shares with DeBoef.

“I love that our Library is a social hub in our community that provides programs for everyone,” DeBoef said. “Libraries offer so much more than just books: a space for connection, learning, creativity, and personal growth. Having programs and events for a variety of people is an important way to meet the diverse needs of the community and help bring people together.”

A new chapter for the library certainly, but bridged from the solid foundation of the previous entries.

For more information on the Traer Public Library (531 Second Street) including hours of operation, refer to the library’s website: https://www.traer.lib.ia.us, or call (319) 478-2180.