New Head Librarian at the Kelowna Branch of the ORL

Chris Stephenson is no stranger to the Okanagan.  On the way to his last position as Head Librarian of the Bancroft Public Library in Ontario, Chris drove through Kelowna and said to himself, “One day I’d like to work for the Okanagan Regional Library system.”  And two years later, here he is.

Chris began the Branch head librarian role at the central branch just after the Easter weekend and says he’s absolutely thrilled to be a part of the team here:  “The staff here are super enthusiastic, there’s a strong vision for the future already coming into reality, and I’m actively in the process of meeting my new community due to the substantial number of events hosted here.”

A lifelong passionate library advocate and user himself, Chris comes from a diverse background and has previously worked in the Okanagan in three industries in the past.  He tree-planted around the Vernon area in the 1990s, and he came back as a Vancouver film industry worker to cheer on his colleagues on the set of ‘Fido,’ filmed here in town in 2005.  That same year Chris began running tours and driving for a BC-based business called Moose Network that regularly stopped in Kelowna each trip.  “It was one of the best jobs ever,” he says, “I got to showcase my country and this region for international visitors, and I knew I would one day return because of this experience.”  
Now Chris sees himself as an information tour guide, helping his new community discover and re-discover some of the exciting trends happening in the library world at the moment.
Chris looks forward to regularly attending events inside and outside the library.  He’d like to help continue fostering the great outreach services the Okanagan Regional Library is offering, and to personally get out on the streets to promote the library to everyone he meets.  In the meantime, he says, his sleeves are rolled up, and his door is open.  Look out for Chris as he continues to explore the area this spring – he’s already hitting the trails around Kelowna as we speak.