Children’s librarian retires

The Children’s Department at Emmet O’Neal Library is missing a familiar face this month. Department head Carol Melton has retired after more than 23 years of library service in the Jefferson County Library Cooperative (JCLC).

Gloria Repolesk, the former elementary children’s librarian at Emmet O’Neal, succeeded Melton as the department head on Feb. 1.

Under Melton’s leadership, the number of children’s programs offered by the department more than doubled. She cultivated a strong working relationship with Mountain Brook’s Junior Women’s Committee of 100, whose financial contribution and member volunteer hours support the operations of the children’s department. The summer reading program also expanded under her leadership. In 2014, the Children’s Department hosted more than 100 programs that welcomed 6,600 patrons. Altogether 2,000 children read 1.5 million pages from May to July.

Melton, who earned her Masters of Library Science from the University of Alabama, spent more than 10 years working at the Hoover Library before transferring to Emmet O’Neal to head the Children’s Department. 

During her tenure as a children’s librarian, Melton served as president of the JCLC Children’s Services Round Table, sat on the Alabama Library Association’s Alabama Authors Awards committee and planned the annual Children’s Services Mini-Conference for eight years.