Reception set for retiring Norman Public Library Children’s Manager Basha Hartley

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For more than a quarter-century, Basha Hartley has been a fixture in serving Norman through her efforts at the Norman Public Library.

Now after a career of almost 26 years of service, including the previous 21 as Children’s Services Manager at the library, she is moving on to retirement and some new chapters in her life.

The library invites the community to a retirement reception for Hartley from 3 to 6 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 15, in the Children’s Department of the library, 225 N. Webster Ave.

That’s where her home away from home has been, bringing the joy of reading and the library to youngsters and their parents.

“Children are the treasure of the community,” she said. “You want to make the library a destination for kids and families.”

What those families have seen for more than two decades are the friendly faces of Hartley and her staff, greeting children and families as they make their way into the sometimes boisterous children’s section of the library.

Hartley has been a longtime member of the Mountain Plains Library Association and also active in various groups around Norman, including the Children’s Rights Commission for the City of Norman, the Red Ribbon Week Coalition and as a longtime member of the Norman Rotary Club, where she had the chance to go to Finland in 1994 as part of Rotary’s Group Study Exchange.

And Hartley’s legacy will live on, as plans are in the works for a permanent sculpture in her honor to be placed in the Children’s Department. Those attending Tuesday’s reception, or anyone who wishes to contribute financially to the display, may do so by donating to the Pioneer Library System Foundation.