A Terrace librarian is moving on after nearly six years in the community.
David Tremblay, director of the Terrace Public Library, said for a time he believed he would live in Terrace until retirement and beyond. But he and his partner decided to move back to Ontario so their two-year-old daughter could be closer to her grandparents.
“[I am] very, very sad and bittersweet about leaving here, because it’s quite magical, the beautiful northwest, the traditional land of the Tsimshian people,” Tremblay said. “We’re very lucky to have worked, and lived, and played here.”
Greer Kaiser, chair of the Terrace Public Library board of trustees, said Tremblay will be greatly missed.
“He does really need to be celebrated because he’s brought amazing things to our library,” she said.
Tremblay helped modernize the Terrace Public Library, Kaiser said, when he took the lead in creating a “library of things,” such as musical instruments or sports equipment, that the public can borrow. Tremblay also lead the library in implementing recommendations from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.
Kaiser said Tremblay reminded her, and a few others involved with the library, of another longtime Terrace librarian, Ed Curell.
“Ed would really have gotten along with David, so that was kind of remarkable,” she said. “I know they would have been great friends.”
Tremblay’s management style was appreciated by many at the library, Kaiser said.
“He works with staff, he doesn’t feel that he’s the boss, per se, he’s part of a larger team,” she said. “He works well with people.”
Tremblay said the highlight of his time here was working with the other team members at the library.
“There’s a really great team at the library,” he said. “They care about the community, and they care about each other, and they really care about the jobs they do.”
A new library director will arrive from Fort Nelson mid-May, Kaiser said.