A Bridge to Opportunity

If you loved your job and continued to believe in its calling, you’d want that mission to continue.

That’s why Anne Kozak, who served three decades as executive director of the Thomas Ford Memorial Library in Western Springs, Illinois, established a fund at the University
of Illinois Library to help future librarians.

“I really wanted to support what I feel is the best educational opportunity for people that are interested in working in libraries,” she said. “I thought, ‘This could be a way to help someone financially who [is] really interested in being in libraries . . . [and] perhaps ease the burden a bit.” In light of that inclination, the Anne M. Kozak Graduate Hourly Support Fund provides job opportunities for graduate students studying library and information science at Illinois.

Kozak herself is not a U. of I. alumna, but the Clarendon Hills resident became familiar with campus when visiting her son, Alexander Sagil, ’05 FAA, MARCH ’07 FAA, MS ’07 ENG, who was busy earning degrees in architecture and structural engineering. “I just enjoyed kind of snooping about the various libraries and the collections,” she said, as she traversed the campus. While doing so, she also noted the inviting exchanges that were taking place.

As she passed librarians interacting with students or faculty, “it was always very warm,” Kozak observed of their conversations. “I just felt like they were happy to be there. They were happy to help people.

“It never seemed burdensome.”

That willingness to engage reflects a trait seemingly embedded in many a librarian’s DNA. As a girl, Kozak enjoyed reading the Nancy Drew amateur sleuth series, “and in a way,” she said, “librarians are kind of detectives . . . trying to find things.” An attractive aspect of working in libraries she said, “is you’re working with people that are curious.”

“As [your patrons] are learning, you’re learning.”

Gathering information for people “so that they can make . . . intelligent decisions is really an important part of libraries,” Kozak said. “An educated public is what makes America—or any country—good.” She cautioned that libraries need to maintain trust with their patrons by providing materials from a full spectrum of ideas, while at the same time helping people realize not everything they read is true.

Kozak’s lifelong affection for libraries led her to create the fund specifically at Illinois, a premier institution of library and information science education, in order to draw outstanding candidates to perpetuate the profession. “Maybe this will make a difference in someone’s life,” she said of her decision, “and they’ll go on to love libraries as much as I do.”

Of her many years in the field, “I always sort of thought of myself as the conduit,” Kozak said—a way to connect information seekers with materials they needed. Now retired, she still serves as a vital bridge, linking students with financial resources so that future librarians may more easily pursue their studies, and along the way, deepen their love for their craft.