Polo library director to step down: Sterling woman at the helm since May 1, 1999

POLO – Gail Carillo is looking forward to the travel and time with family that will come after she retires as director of Polo Public Library at the end of the month.

Still, “I’m really going to miss this,” she said last week as she tied up some loose ends in her office. “It’s a nice community to do things with. Everybody here was so patient while I learned.”

Carillo, of Sterling, started her job May 1, 1999, after answering an ad in the newspaper.

At the time, she worked in the Learning Resource Center at Sauk Valley Community College, where she was taking classes. Before that, she worked for the Educational Service Center in Sterling.

“I’d always worked in education, so coming to a public library was kind of a shock,” she said. “I had to learn about levies, but I knew about grants.”

She put her knowledge to good use, obtaining more than $250,000 in grants over the years for library projects, which included some major renovations.

During her tenure, the library has been made fully accessible, with a special entrance and a lift; a children’s area has been created in the basement; climate-controlled areas have been set aside for record storage; and the original stained-glass windows have been restored – her favorite project.

Carillo pointed out the decorative panes in every window of the 105-year-old Carnegie library. The windows had to be sent away so the panes could be restored or recreated. Now they are protected on the outside by glass that won’t allow the sun’s rays to penetrate and damage them.

Keeping up with technology also was important to Cariilo, and now patrons can access all kinds of information on the library’s computers.

“People here love their library,” she said. “We’ve been fortunate that we’ve grown and are able to take care of their needs.”

She credited the library’s success to residents’ willingness to donate books and money, and volunteers who have given their time sorting and moving books and materials, painting walls and helping with construction.

“We couldn’t have gotten by without our volunteers,” she said.