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For the last 25 years, Patty Greibrok of rural Glenville has impacted thousands of Albert Lea’s children in the quest to grow a love of reading.

Greibrok, the Albert Lea Public Library children’s librarian, is slated to retire at the end of May with an open house slated for 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday in the library, when Greibrok can meet with families and others who want to wish her well in retirement.

“I have loved this job,” she said. “It has never been a ‘job.’ It’s so fulfilling, and the kids are so kind and nice.”

Greibrok said she first started with the library after being a preschool teacher in Glenville. At the time, she was only working about nine hours a week in that role, and with her children getting older, she wanted to find something that would allow her to contribute more financially to her family.

She saw an ad for a part-time children’s clerk in the library and decided to apply without even telling her husband. She was interviewed and offered the job and then started the following Monday and went on to work part time for a time in both roles.

She estimated for a year or two she worked full time in the summer at the library and part time during the school year.

In 2007, when the children’s library moved to its current location in city hall and the space was renovated, then Children’s Librarian Staci Waltman accepted a new position with the Albert Lea school district and Library Director Peggy Havener offered Greibrok the role.

She joked she would offer to give it a test run.

Looking back on her time in the role, she said there have been many highlights. The children’s library has expanded the number and availability of storytimes, added Music and Movement and started in 2010 with a Book Pals program. That program started with four children in third through fifth grades. Participating children meet for three five-week sessions during the year and during each session would read a book provided by the Friends of the Library, complete a related craft and a writing, and even enjoy a pizza party and watch a movie version of that same book.

The program grew so much that in 2013 they ultimately split into two groups, one for third and fourth grades and a second for fifth through seventh grades. In 2017 it had grown to have 30 children in each group.

“I love book club, Book Pals,” she said. “I think it instills a love of reading.”

Another staff member now also organizes another program for tween and teen groups, and she has also started a group for the younger siblings of the Book Pals participants.

The library’s summer reading program has expanded with the addition of Science Blast, which allows children to try different science experiments with the help of other older children who volunteer.

Every Thursday, the Friends of the Library also sponsors bigger events in the summer, including a magician, puppet shows and Zoo Man, among others. Those events usually have at least 90 children who participate.

She has also been proud of the passive programming that has been added with things like scavenger hunts, other activities such as decorating an egg to put on a tree and guessing how many of an object are in a jar.

“I think our biggest goal here is when children enter this room, they know it’s theirs … We want kids to know this is their place and to enjoy reading. Pick whatever you enjoy to read — just spark that joy, find what you like and then it usually goes from there.”

Greibrok said for many people, that process starts with storytime, noting that storytime is not just for children but also for the parents and caregivers, who see how to read to their children, ask questions and get their children involved in a story. Parents also get to interact with other parents and caregivers in attendance with their own children when the children are making a craft and enjoying a snack.

She said Albert Lea has “phenomenal” adults who are hands-on with their children and who sit with them as Greibrok has led the story time events instead of being on their phones.

She hopes that the children through the years have learned that reading isn’t a punishment.

“I don’t want kids to feel it’s a chore to read,” she said. “I want them to find joy in it and just know it’s fun.”

She said her favorite thing about her role for all these years has been meeting the children and their families. She also has enjoyed dressing up in silly costumes to go along with different summer reading themes and events.

Molly Grimmius, a mother of four children, ages 6, 8, 10 and 12, said she has brought her children to storytime since they were little, and now the oldest volunteers.

“It’s such an ongoing community she creates with the kids and makes them feel so welcomed,” Grimmius said.

She said it is going to be a great loss when Greibrok retires, describing her as a one-of-a-kind, humble person who she compared to a female version of Mr. Rogers.

“She’s the real deal,” Grimmius said. “She just cares so deeply.”

Greibrok is known for remembering the names of the children who attend storytime, and she would welcome them back by name to the library when they returned.

Grimmius said Greibrok also presented in a way that allowed the children to understand at different levels, explaining things along the way.

“It’s such an inclusive, beautiful way to do it,” Grimmius said.

Kersten Aurich has three girls, ages 2, 5 and 7. She said when her family moved to Albert Lea from Texas in 2019, one of the big things that sold them on choosing Albert Lea was the children’s library.

“It’s a sweet, magical place,” Aurich said. “It was where I saw there was a vibrant younger community.”

She described Greibrok as a consistent part of her children’s childhood, whether that has been with storytime or summer reading.

“It just seems like she has a wealth of knowledge,” Aurich said, noting many also ask her about parenting or preschool after story time is completed.

Greibrok said in her retirement, she hopes to spend more time visiting grandchildren in Ohio and California and working on some projects at her home.

Library employee Trisha Whelan is slated to become the next children’s librarian.