St. Michaels Library Branch Manager Shauna Beulah Honored

Shauna Beulah

Out of all the hundreds of people working for libraries in the state of Maryland, the private, non-profit Citizens for Maryland Libraries has named St. Michaels Library Branch Manager Shauna Beulah its Outstanding Library Employee of 2020.  Quoting from the organization’s website, “The award is presented to a library employee or team who has made exceptional contributions to the library, particularly in the areas of customer service or community outreach.”

In nominating Beulah for the award, Talbot County Free Library Director Dana Newman wrote, “It is with great pleasure that I nominate Shauna Beulah, Branch Manager at the St. Michaels Library for consideration for the 2020 CML Outstanding Employee Award in recognition of her strong commitment and passion toward inclusion, partnerships, excellent customer service and collaboration with the community.  Every library has a story and a hero, a staff member or volunteer who empowers people through their passion and compassion, to help individuals to succeed and to uplift the community in which they work.  This year (and for many other years) for the Talbot County Free Library, that hero is Shauna Beulah. Her leadership has been consistently characterized by a strong caring attitude for library patrons, staff, and the community; her advocacy and vision to put service before self; devotion and a penchant to go above and beyond.  She is always actively looking for ways to assist those in the St. Michaels and Bay Hundred areas to address individual and community challenges while also inspiring staff to look for their own ways to support the community.”

Joining in the nomination, a patron wrote, “Shauna is truly one of the most kind, caring, generous people I have ever met, and she has created a warm and welcoming space for everyone that walks in the door of the St. Michaels Library.”

In explaining her organization’s decision to recognize Beulah with this award, Citizens for Maryland Libraries Executive Director Lynn Wheeler wrote to Beulah, “… you have made personal connections to customers over your 34-year career, including hand delivery of materials to customers who are ill.”

Beulah is known throughout Talbot County for her gracious smile, her eternally upbeat attitude, and her dedication to service.  Generations of children have grown up in St. Michaels knowing they can trust and depend upon the nice lady who runs the local branch of the Talbot County Free Library.  Board President Susan Sherman put it best when she said “When people think of the St. Michaels Library, they think of Shauna.” She has touched untold hundreds of lives.  It is people like Shauna Beulah that make living in Talbot County such a delight.