November 2023 Standard News article

By Gaylee Harris, Montgomery City Public Library Director

The Montgomery City Public Library has a wonderful, knowledgeable, and friendly staff who is ready to help you.  Please meet the team that makes MCPL run smoothly. 

Director Gaylee Harris, originally from Ohio, has lived in many places like North Carolina, England, and Saudi Arabia.  After living abroad, she and her husband moved back to his family's farm to raise their family.  Gaylee was an elementary school teacher for sixteen years before entering the library world at the Montgomery City Public Library in 2016.  Her favorite part of working at MCPL is helping instill a love of reading in children.  She wholeheartedly believes that reading will take you anywhere and learn anything.  Her favorite books include the Harry Potter series, Pete the Cat, and The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. She enjoys reading books by Montgomery City native Dana Wilkerson, Victoria Thompson, and Emily Henry.  Besides reading, Gaylee’s hobbies include spending time with her family, traveling, and shopping.

Assistant Librarian Luanne Andrews has lived in the Montgomery City area since high school. She taught elementary art and gifted education in California, Missouri, and in Wright City, Missouri. The library became her "after-retirement" job. Her favorite part of working at the library is creating bulletin boards, window paintings, adult craft days, and her Books & Beyond friends. Her favorite books are generally cozy mysteries and authors Janet Evanovich, Laura Childs, Donna Everhart, J.K. Rowling, and Patrick Rothfuss. Besides reading, her hobbies include decorating sugar cookies, making crafts, spending time with her three grandkids, and the many car shows and side-by-side adventures she shares with her husband Jeff. Working at the library has gotten her back into the community and created some great friendships.

Assistant Librarian Katie Bainbridge moved to the area to live on her husband’s family farm and they now share it with George and Winnie, their beloved dog and cat.  Katie was a historical interpreter for nine years before joining the library in August 2020.  She loves helping patrons find books and seeing kids enjoy the library as she did growing up.  Her favorite books include anything by Jane Austin, Matilda by Roald Dahl, and Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery.  Other than reading, her hobbies include traveling with her husband, playing board games, and spending time in nature.  She loves working at the Montgomery City Public Library.

Assistant Librarian Linda Richardson has worked with the Montgomery City Public Library for twenty years after teaching in the elementary school for twenty-five years. Her favorite authors are Robyn Carr, Mariah Stewart, and Brenda Novak.   Linda’s hobbies include reading, playing piano, and doing jigsaw puzzles.  She enjoys keeping up on current books and trying to match them with patrons’ interests.  Linda also enjoys meeting people whom she might have never met otherwise.

Assistant Librarian and IT manager Brian Sippel grew up in Montgomery City. After college, Brian became a sub at the library, eventually becoming a normal part of the team in 2020. His favorite books include The Count of Monte Cristo, the When They Cry series, and The Sandman. Among his favorite movies and TV shows are Pacific Rim, Spirited Away, Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet, and Turn A Gundam. In his spare time, Brian reads, watches anime, plays video games, and builds plastic models. At work, he enjoys helping people and teaching them about technology.

Please come into the Montgomery City Public Library to meet these welcoming and delightful people.  This MCPL team can help you in a myriad of ways.  For example, they can find you a particular book or movie, set you up with a library card, share new resources like the Memories Matter kits with you, help you with the Creation Station Maker Space, assist you with your tech devices, and instruct you on how to visit the www.mcplmo.com website for lots more information.  Come visit the team at the Montgomery City Public Library!