Laurie Williams is originally from southwest Iowa but has lived in Kentucky for 41 years.

She followed her husband to Kentucky after he accepted a transfer to Link-Belt’s new plant at that time.

They ended up liking it in the Commonwealth. The winters were milder, and it’s a beautiful state.

“I guess I’m a Kentucky girl now,” Williams said.

But moving here also led her to one of her most beloved feats: being a librarian.

While a stay-at-home mom in the late 1980s, Williams’ oldest son attended St. Agatha Academy. The school’s librarian was leaving, and she recommended Williams for the job.

“I thought it would be a good way to work off tuition at that time, and here I am 31 years later,” Williams said. “I loved it.”

Before being a stay-at-home mother, Williams worked as a secretary for the vice president and sales manager of an oatmeal company; she had never thought about being a librarian but it was fate, she said.

Williams spent 22 years at St. Agatha before leaving after undergoing knee surgery. After a year off, Williams said she couldn’t take it any longer. Luckily, Calvary Christian School had an opening for a librarian.

“I love kids so much,” Williams said. “And I have a passion for this. My job, I’ve always felt, is not to teach them to read, it’s to make them enjoy reading because I truly believe there’s a book out there for everyone. And I think it’s hard because sometimes people never find that and they don’t like to read. But when you find that book you lose yourself in — that’s what it’s all about.”

Now, after nine years at Calvary, Williams is in her final days as a librarian. Her last day is May 23.

“My husband retired,” Williams said. “And I always said when he retired, I would too. So I guess that’s my reason.”

During her 30-plus years as a librarian, she has seen the libraries grow at her schools from tiny spaces to shelves overflowing with books.

She’s seen the rise of technology and graphic novels, and the fall of card catalogs.

But the most consistent and the best part has always been the students.

“Being with the kids, and discussing books and seeing that light, that passion that comes from when they read a great book, and they hate it to end, and because the next book may not be quite as good, I think that’s the best part,” Williams said.

One year while working at St. Agatha, a student came to Williams and told her to look out and open the window. She complied, and outside was the entire school on the blacktop singing “Happy Birthday.”

“There’s been lots of (great memories) in that amount of time,” Williams said. “Many, many, many good memories and great kids.”

Williams also read a lot as a child. She recalls going to her hometown library, riding her bicycle to get there. She’s read all of the Beverly Cleary books and then some. She never thought she’d wind up instilling that passion into others.

“Sometimes God has other plans for us, and our life takes us in the very direction we’re supposed to go,” Williams said.

Reading takes people so many places in life, Williams said.

“I tell the kids all the time: it’s every part of your life,” Williams said. “… You have to know how to read … But I like to develop the love of it.”

In her retirement, Williams said she plans to spend more time with her two children and eight grandchildren. Her son works as a professor in West Virginia, and her daughter is a stay-at-home mom in Jacksonville, Florida. So, traveling is on her list of things to do as well, she said.

“It’s kind of scary to begin to maneuver in this world of retirement,” William said. “… It’s a little unnerving because you’re defined by what you do. It’s your purpose. And I love what I do.”

Williams said she’s leaving the library in good hands, though. First-grade Calvary teacher Julie Carpenter is taking the reins.

For now, Williams is soaking in every last second.

“I have been very blessed to have this opportunity to work with so many wonderful children and to watch them grow and develop, just to get to be a small part of their lives,” Williams said. “I think that’s the true motivation of any teacher.”