Library Staff

Laurie Orton
Library Director

Loving the outdoors after years in the desert, Laurie is hiking and traveling, currently exploring the beautiful Pacific Northwest region. Other hobbies include spotting (real) and collecting (fake) foxes, Spider Solitaire, playing April Fools' jokes on coworkers, and making folded book art (the only acceptable form of folding book pages, don’t you know?).

Reading Interests: Fiction—science fiction, fantasy, historical, suspense, literary, contemporary, romance, dystopian, zombies and vampires, with small or large doses of magic thrown in here and there. Nonfiction—quirky memoirs.
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Staff (Alphabetically)

Floyd Bourne
IT Administrator

This singing, tap-dancing thespian keeps the Library running with super IT skills…and coffee.

Reading interests: Sci-fi, hysterical fiction, and The New York Times.
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Naomi Boydston
Public Service Associate
Naomi grew up on Waldron and can't imagine wanting to be anywhere but the islands. She loves good stories in all their forms, knitting with fun colors, and hiking around local parks listening to audiobooks!
Reading interests: Loves character driven stories about good people, twice as much if it's sci-fi or fantasy! Especially anything by T Kingfisher, Terry Pratchett, Lois McMaster Bujold, Matt Vancil, or Seanan Mcguire
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Heather Dima
Bookkeeper
An aficionado of numbers, Heather loves when things add up! When she's not crunching numbers or illuminating the Library with her contagious laugh, you can find her hiking and adventuring about.
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Jenni Fleming
Cataloger & Collections Specialist

Favorite hobbies besides reading are traveling, obstacle course racing and watching her chickens run around. She is fascinated by alligators and crocodiles, but is terrified of cockroaches.

Reading interests: Travel books, World War II non-fiction, YA, dystopian fiction and zombies. Her favorite children’s fiction series is Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins.
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Pat Gislason
Circulation Associate

Finding herself with no cows to chase, Pat has taken to wrangling books at the Library when she is not out horsing around…

Reading Interests: Horse, horses and more horse books.... non-fiction, good fiction, cookbooks, history... likes to read good stories about REAL stuff.
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Elizabeth Griffin
Youth Services Librarian

Elizabeth was born and raised in SW Washington. She has lived in another country but never another state. Some of her favorite activities include listening to audiobooks, eating, and hanging out with her cats. As a lifelong practitioner of karate, Elizabeth spent the last five years teaching in her own dojo.

Reading Interests: Mostly young adult and middle grade books. Preferred genres: historical fantasy (a la Libby Bray), coming of age stories, and Own Voices books.
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Melina Lagios
Youth Services Manager

Ditched urban life for rural living on five acres with a guitar playing chords man, one barky dog, four quacking ducks, and a cat from the Galapagos who brings bull froggies home for dinner. For a little peace and quiet Melina plays bells every Monday night with the High Class Ding-a-lings.

Reading Interests: Picture books, biographies, creative nonfiction, The New Yorker, well-written obituaries, books on self sufficient living, and anything by Jonathan Franzen.
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Heidi Lewis
Public Service Associate

An enthusiast of books and libraries, Heidi enjoys walks and hikes; exploring and traveling; and cooking new vegan recipes.

A tiny sampling of my favorite items from our library's collection: Infinity : the life and art of Yayoi Kusama (DVD ) Miss Jane : a novel (Adult Fiction) by Watson, Brad Never home alone : from microbes to millipedes, camel crickets, and honeybees, the natural history of where we live (Adult Nonfiction) by Dunn, Rob
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Stephanie Mattox
Cataloger & Collections Specialist

Our resident Wonder Woman prefers listening to audio books rather than actually reading. Stephanie just recently learned how to swim, someday wishes to be able to do one pull up, and her favorite game to play is Words with Friends.

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Anthony Morris
Assistant Director & Adult Services Manager

Anthony wandered out of the deserts of Utah to live his best life in the Pacific Northwest. When he isn't causing or solving chaos at the library, he loves wandering beaches and trying new hobbies. Most recently, he can be found keeping bees, baking bread, playing Go, and quilting.

Reading Interests: Literary/History/Poetry/Sci-Fi/Nature/Craft/Philosophy/Religion/Fantasy/Graphic Novels. And other stuff. Particular favorites include James Baldwin, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Yasunari Kawabata, and Thomas Merton.
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Brenna Normann
ILL Coordinator & Collections Specialist

Two conversations with strangers have influenced Brenna's life: one with an Orcas Island resident, the other with a naturalist who once lived in Friday Harbor. The advice they gave her boils down to two things: "why not you" and "you gotta chase it". In her free time Brenna is often playing with her dog, usually exploring the island, and always looking for whales.

Reading Interests: Brenna is usually listening to an audiobook downloaded onto her phone, probably working through a fantasy series. She also loves a good comedy and will watch, read, or listen to anything that makes her laugh.
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Kasey Rasmussen
Administrative Assistant
Kasey is an island-raised bookworm who briefly experimented with living on the East Coast before retreating back to the West. When she isn't reading, she can be found watching movies, walking other people's dogs, or trying to learn to knit. She loves traveling and is always looking for an excuse to throw a tea party!
Reading Interests: Historical fiction, literary fiction, queer fiction, fantasy, sci-fi, magical realism, poetry, short stories, and anything that includes a map.
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Frankie Thomas
Adult Programs Associate

Hailing from Nashville, Tennessee, but having lived in six US states and two foreign countries, Frankie returned to San Juan this year to settle into the Library life. When not reading or talking about what she's reading, she's likely to be found thrifting, spending time with friends, or listening to music (classic country, modern R&B, 90's girl rock).

Reading Interests: Change with the weather. The staples are poetry, creative nonfiction, magical realism, and queer fiction.
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Sue Vulgares
Circulation Manager

Our resident raptor expert, Sue likes to watch wildlife and observe the seasonal changes in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.

Reading interests: Non- fiction and historical drama and indulges in a yearly reading of the Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. Other favorite recent readings include The Boys in the Boat, The Last Bus to Wisdom, Grandma Gatewood's Walk : The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail and The Orphan Train.
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Substitute Library Staff

Kim Erickson
Substitute Library Staff
Kim grew up in Sacramento, CA and spent most of those long hot summers in the swimming pool. Currently enjoy teaching others to swim and be safe in the pool. Nice to have a job out of the pool as well, subbing at the library. Gained a love of hiking when she lived and worked at a lodge at the Grand Canyon before moving to San Juan Island.
Katlyn Heck
Substitute Library Staff
Katlyn was born and raised in the forests, mountains and waterways of Alaska and now is working with her skilled husband, imaginative son and goofy dog to reawaken the bones of an old island farm. Katlyn loves being silly with her family, being in her gardens (yes plural, send help), swimming in or watching the ocean, being curious, traveling back to Alaska, writing, exploring new places, disappearing in a book and not following recipes in the kitchen.
A bit of everything depending upon the day. Autobiographies, poetry, self sufficiency/how-to/farming/gardening, fantasy, philosophy, children's books, theology, cookbooks, dystopia, design, field guides and social justice. Currently reading: Janice Schofield Eaton, Marcie Alvis Walker, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Wendell Berry, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Patricia Polacco, Maya Angelou, Bruce Deagan...
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Marty Robinson
Substitute Library Staff
Marty is an intrepid traveler and often can be found exploring the sights in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. Her five wonderful grandchildren lure her to Saipan and San Francisco often. When she is on island, Marty is a keen reader, singer, and is always ready with a smile!
Reading Interests: Travel books, biographies and basically anything which looks interesting.
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Joyce Stimpson
Substitute Library Staff
My dad made me a lifelong, devoted reader of the Sunday NYT. I love to make pies. Also enjoys: art, architecture, landscape design, hiking, gardening, the symphony and foreign films.
Reading preferences: history, biography. Currently reading: Grant, by Ron Chernow. Libby favorite: On earth we’re briefly gorgeous, as read by Ocean Vuong, author. Some favorite books: The warmth of other suns, The great believers.
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