A local library in Guthrie County has a new director running operations. 

Jerri Hawkins, a native of Guthrie Center, will take over for the retiring director Pat Sliester, who spent over 30 years with the library. Hawkins says she has been in Guthrie Center since 2019 after moving away for a long time. She says she wants to move the library forward in a way that celebrates the legacy of Sleister. 

“Guthrie Center is a special community and home to me, so I’m really looking forward and excited to reconnect with the community and get to know how the library can best contribute to this great community.”

She adds most people in Guthrie Center remember her for her maiden name Jerri Downing.