VOORHEESVILLE — Gail Brown is a catalyst.

She brings life to her community by pulling varied entities and people together to make things happen.

The longtime head of Youth and Family Services at the Voorheesville library, Brown has just been named Public Librarian of the Year by the New York State Library Association.

Her goal is to create a community of learners. While she focuses on kids, her tendrils reach to nurture their parents and grandparents, too, as well as into the community at large.

In one library project, Brown paired kids with veterans so that young people would understand the sacrifices of war. The Military Memories and Veterans Voices project made history come alive and Brown believes it is something the kids will carry with them for the rest of their lives.

She recalls in this week’s podcast how one young man who loves history was paired with a Korean War veteran. “Mrs. Brown, this is better than any textbook,” he told her.

Brown had started her career as an English teacher. She paused in her teaching to raise her own children and decided to become a librarian because it allowed her to be more creative in her pursuits, not restricted by set curricula.

Brown was also instrumental in 2019, before the pandemic, in launching Voorheesville’s first Screen-Free Week.

Parents had come to her, worried about their children’s over-use of social media, which heightened troubling aspects of youth like bullying.

While Brown acknowledges the importance of modern technology, too much can hinder creativity, she says. “Much like anything, it’s about moderation,” says Brown.

Working with a committee through the Voorheesville schools, Brown says the activities every night for a week — from a potluck dinner to a playground session — brought together not just hundreds of kids but their parents, too, pulling in disparate parts of the community.

The Screen-Free Week planned for 2020 was jettisoned by the pandemic but will rise again this May with outdoor events to keep participants safe.

Meanwhile, during the pandemic, the library served as a lifeline for kids and families who were feeling isolated with the shutdown meant to stem the spread of COVID-19. Regular story times were held through the internet and kids could bring home take-and-make kits from the library “to bring a little joy” into their lives, said Brown.

Parents were suffering, too, and reached out to Brown with their concerns. She lined up educators to work with them in virtual programs, as late as nine at night, after their children were in bed.

Brown also worked with the school in creating a drive-through fairy-tale event.

“One of my most important roles is to listen, and build and nurture relationships,” says Brown.

She thought about high school students who missed drama club, and some of them played the parts of fairy-tale characters in skits they created. Brown herself played the part of Mother Goose.

She also thought about 4-H kids who missed exhibiting their animals at the Altamont Fair, so goats were on hand as the Three Billy Goats Gruff. Chicken Little was there and so was a llama to represent the Llama Llama books.

Even adults, without kids, came to the drive-though event just to see one another and have fun. Families who had not seen each other in a very long time enjoyed waving and smiling from a distance.

Brown’s work isn’t all fun and games though. She takes on serious issues, too. As Voorheesville is not an especially diverse community, Brown and her colleagues present books that tell stories of different religions, different races, different gender identification “to open up their minds to a wider world,” she says.

When a book deals with a difficult topic, Brown invites parents to be part of the discussion, too.

Brown also sets up author visits, both virtual and in person.

One that has stuck with her was a visit from Luis Carlos Montalván and his dog, Tuesday. Montalván, an Iraq war veteran, was a strong advocate for veterans’ rights. He suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and relied on his therapy dog to help him.

He wrote books about it, including one for children. Brown stayed in touch with Montalván long after his visit to Voorheesville and she reported that sadly he later took his life.

After the podcast was over, Brown wrote a long email to The Enterprise, stressing the importance of the library’s connection with the Voorheesville school district.

Even in the midst of the pandemic, the kindergartners’ annual field trips, a tradition of more than a quarter of a century, was carried out virtually so they could receive their very own library cards.

In the summer of 2020, Brown reported, a parent suggested the One School, One Book program so that kids could have joy and a sense of community during a sad time.

Many teachers and community members came together, Brown wrote, around the book she selected: “Wishtree” by Katherine Applegate, a story about a community coming together during difficult times to stomp out hatred and bring hope.

“I thought: What better message for young people to have right now than this?” wrote Brown.

Through community donations, each of Voorheesville Elementary’s more than 700 students was given a copy of the book. Beloved teachers who were missed read chapters of the book, which were posted to the school’s YouTube channel.

The author came for a visit, and a Wishtree was set up in Hotaling Park where the children tied their wishes, in fabric, to the large evergreen tree.

“Some of these wishes were sweet and simple,” Brown wrote, “while others were poignant and profound.”

She concluded, “It was a truly meaningful experience desperately needed to buoy spirits, create community … and spread joy and positivity.”