Former library director Hali Taylor, center, stands in front of the plaque created by Shepherdstown resident Bradley Sanders, left, and former library board of trustees member Rosemary Nickerson, right, in the Shepherdstown Public Library on Sunday. Photo by Tabitha Johnston

SHEPHERDSTOWN — The Shepherdstown Public Library (SPL) Commons Room was filled to overflowing on Sunday afternoon, as people from throughout the community and beyond gathered together to celebrate the legacy of former library director Hali Taylor.

Taylor, who worked at the library for 34 years, made a number of notable achievements during her tenure.

“This library is, arguably, the most important institution in our community. It is a vitally important space that is safe, free and open to all. Hali Taylor was the protector and heartbeat of this library for 34 years,” said former Friends of Shepherdstown Library president Terry Kramer. “She steered the library through some amazing transitions and challenges.”

Those challenges included: expanding the library collection from physical books and periodicals to audio books and videos, successfully integrating technology into the library, introducing internet to the library and, during the COVID-19 Pandemic, operating the library within social distancing policies and providing free wifi access to local residents who needed to do remote work or school children who needed to attend online classes. Taylor also oversaw the establishment of the Friends of the Shepherdstown Library (FOSL) in the late-1990s, to raise funds and provide volunteers for the library’s expanding needs, and founded the Nourishing Literacy Giving Circle in the 2000s, to provide the library with a regular influx of donations from giving circle members’ monthly pledges.

Her greatest achievement, Kramer said, was bringing into being the library’s current building, at 145 Higbee Lane in Shepherdstown. The library had outgrown its former building — the historic Market House on German Street — and needed a new building, with room for a larger inventory, community gatherings and future growth. A location for the new building — a former Corporation of Shepherdstown landfill — was given to the library and carefully cleaned up, with oversight by the West Virginia Environmental Protection Agency.

Former library director Hali Taylor, left, hugs current library director Christy Hagerty, at the end of the ceremony in the Shepherdstown Public Library on Sunday. Photo by Tabitha Johnston

After a decade of fundraising, nearly $4 million was raised to construct the library’s new building.

“In 2023, this new library was completed and opened,” Kramer said. “Our hero’s vision was realized and the new library is thriving and is successful, beyond all expectations.”

Former SPL Board of Trustees member Rosemary Nickerson worked closely with Taylor, throughout the building project.

“With Hali’s steady hand, the Shepherdstown Public Library thrived and grew, and eventually transformed into this beautiful and functional facility we now enjoy,” Nickerson said, mentioning Taylor invited her to serve on the board of trustees, which she remained on for 15 years. “Anyone who has met Hali knows she loved what she did. She was fully invested in her life’s work. She loved the people she did it for, and with.”

Nickerson then announced the presentation of a plaque, designed by Taylor’s friend and Shepherdstown resident Bradley Sanders, which was attached to a wall in the library’s Adult Department.

Shepherdstown Public Library Board of Trustees secretary writes a note in the guest book, after the ceremony in the library’s Adult Department on Sunday. Photo by Tabitha Johnston

“Hali Taylor, on the behalf of FOSL, our greater Shepherdstown community and myself, I say ‘thank you,’ with much love,” Nickerson said, noting the plaque was commissioned by the SPL Board of Trustees. “We dedicate this plaque to you. It is a testament today and into the future, of your outstanding contributions to the Shepherdstown Public Library. It will remind us that with a vision, the will and plenty of love, there’s always a way to make the world a better place.”

For Taylor, the plaque presentation was a deeply moving experience.

“I want to make it very clear, that these accomplishments were not made by me alone. I had huge numbers of people behind me, through this whole effort,” Taylor said. “I specifically thank the staff and boards of directors, throughout the years, who came along for this 25-year-ride. Thank you for the support you provided and, most of all, for your shared belief in the paramount importance of the public library and democracy. Thank you to the donors, large and small; to the family patrons who have gathered here over the years; and even to those naysayers, who I hope will find the courage to venture in and witness the joy and the learning happening within, and experience focal point that is this library.”