ROBERTSDALE - Reading just before going to sleeep is one of the fun things in life that isn’t fattening or gives you wrinkles.

   So pity Cynthia Nall, the director of the Robertsdale Public Library.

   Nall says, “I have my own stack (of books) beside my bed, and no time to read them.”

   That’s an awful situation for Nall. She spends her working days surrounded by all the books, tapes, magazines and other things the library has to offer, but has no time to enjoy them herself.

   But, don’t feel sorry for Nall. It’s clear that she loves the library, and that it will be a wrench to leave. She’s been at the library full-time for more than 18 years.

   “I had a part-time temporary job in the old building,” she said. “I inherited this job.” (The “new” building is on the same site as the “old” building, on Pennsylvania Street.)

   Nall lives in Robertsdale and is a graduate of Robertsdale High. She graduated from a Chicago college.    Her father owned Nall’s Ben Franklin store in the area, and her mother was a stay-at-home mom.

   Working in the library has allowed Nall to keep up with young people, and she said she enjoys having students work in the library. Besides the rewards of seeing young people blossom, she has a reminder of two of them, who gave her her dog, Madeline.

   “Maddy was a gift from two kids who worked at the library. One was Jessica King-Smith who is now a professor at Auburn, and another student who is now a professor in Chicago.

   “I enjoy seeing the children. The people who work for me become family,” she said.

   Madeline, or “Maddy” as she’s called, frequently visits the library, keeping to a back room to be out of the hustle and bustle. Maddy participates in the “Sit, Stay, Read” program where youngsters read aloud to specially trained dogs.

   “The program is for children 12 and under,” said Nall. “Sometimes children have difficulty reading to a person, but they find it easier to read to dogs.”

   The specially-trained dogs provide an alert, non-judgmental audience for the young readers, and the library keeps track of what the youngsters have read.

   “The library is currently accepting donations for the Haven (an animal shelter),” said Nall, indicating a large box in the front of the library already holding things like paper towels and pet food.

   Nall likes murder mysteries and authors like Sue Grafton and Mary Higgins Clark. 

   And while she treasures the young people, one older patron still makes her chuckle.

   “We had an older lady who would come in for Harlequins,” said Nall. The lady had difficulty walking, so Nall said she offered to get the patron her new books.

   “The spicier the better,”  the patron said.

   But, she also knows that a library has to offer the latest technology to library users and then make that technology understandable to them. That means she and the library staff are always learning new tricks.

   “One of our biggest challenges is keeping up with technology. We used to be here to show people how to use reference material. We had to lead them by the hand.”

   While there has been an increase in the number of people using the library’s computers and other non-book offerings (think books on tape and CDs, magazines and music), Nall believes that people coming in for plain old-fashioned books will never go away.

   “I think we are always going to have books,” said Nall. “I’m a big believer in books. There’s something about the tactile sensation of opening a book while you’re in bed.”

   She does see some new things on the horizon, like self-checkout of library books. The library is already a Wi-Fi hotspot, allowing patrons with laptops wireless access to the Internet.

   “There will be more technology, it just depends on the area how soon you see it.”