Behind Our Library’s Books and Puzzles
August 15, 2025
Diane van Naerssen and Elaine Kushmaul, members of the library subcommittee, also work library shifts. The library’s computers and printer are there for residents’ use and contain four online newspapers. (Photo by Joan Muyskens Pursley)
By Joan Muyskens Pursley
The Robson Ranch Library, which opened in the CATC building in 2008, is a popular Robson amenity and is run totally by volunteers.
A subcommittee of the Facilities Committee oversees its operations, and some 80 volunteers work two-hour shifts, covering 60 hours per week. These dedicated residents check materials in and out, keep the shelves neat and materials alphabetized, and assist patrons with materials and the library’s computers and printer. Volunteers are listed on the library’s website at www.RobsonLibrary.org.
The chair of the library subcommittee is Ralph Berry. (Previous chairs were Linda Terry and Gil Clifton.) Ralph and his wife Sue moved to Robson from Memphis four years ago. His career spanned journalism, corporate communications, and agency public relations.
Other members of the subcommittee are as follows:
Linda Bono, a Friends of the Library (FOL) founder and past FOL chair, has worked in a variety of publishing jobs, from promoting books and writing magazine articles to copy editing.
Sondra Clifton became a volunteer within six months of moving here in 2013. Sondra was an English as a second language teacher for 28 years and had teaching credentials in five states.
Marcia Elving worked in elementary schools, supporting IIe machines and classroom non-network computers. She also taught staff development classes in software or Microsoft-related fields. Marcia currently supports the library’s technology and provides classes on its computer programs.
Patti Ewoldt taught in elementary and middle schools and served as a school principal. When teaching middle school English, she became a reading specialist and discovered a personal passion for reading, which she shared with her students.
Elaine Kushmaul (past FOL chair and co-chair of the subcommittee’s Collections Committee) is a retired librarian with 15 years “active duty” at a community college in North Carolina where staff not only dealt with books, but also taught classes on using online resources.
Joan Muyskens Pursley (vice chair) is a retired magazine editor and the author of four books and more than 200 articles. She is one of FOL’s founders.
Nancy Tarpley (secretary and volunteer coordinator) was a technical writer and editor of software documentation.
Diane van Naerssen (Collections Committee co-chair) has a Master of Library Science degree. She worked in publishing in New York City and later worked in public, academic, and church libraries.
Fred van Naerssen (treasurer) is a retired CPA from Price Waterhouse and Union Pacific and the husband of a retired librarian.
Lorraine Wilson’s professional experience spans human resources, office management, and insurance industry agent/broker, reflecting a strong foundation in organizational support and leadership.
The library is open daily from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. A PDK phone app or card, available at the HOA office, is needed for access. Volunteers are available to help patrons Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Fridays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The Robson Ranch Library, which opened in the CATC building in 2008, is a popular Robson amenity and is run totally by volunteers.
A subcommittee of the Facilities Committee oversees its operations, and some 80 volunteers work two-hour shifts, covering 60 hours per week. These dedicated residents check materials in and out, keep the shelves neat and materials alphabetized, and assist patrons with materials and the library’s computers and printer. Volunteers are listed on the library’s website at www.RobsonLibrary.org.
The chair of the library subcommittee is Ralph Berry. (Previous chairs were Linda Terry and Gil Clifton.) Ralph and his wife Sue moved to Robson from Memphis four years ago. His career spanned journalism, corporate communications, and agency public relations.
Other members of the subcommittee are as follows:
Linda Bono, a Friends of the Library (FOL) founder and past FOL chair, has worked in a variety of publishing jobs, from promoting books and writing magazine articles to copy editing.
Sondra Clifton became a volunteer within six months of moving here in 2013. Sondra was an English as a second language teacher for 28 years and had teaching credentials in five states.
Marcia Elving worked in elementary schools, supporting IIe machines and classroom non-network computers. She also taught staff development classes in software or Microsoft-related fields. Marcia currently supports the library’s technology and provides classes on its computer programs.
Patti Ewoldt taught in elementary and middle schools and served as a school principal. When teaching middle school English, she became a reading specialist and discovered a personal passion for reading, which she shared with her students.
Elaine Kushmaul (past FOL chair and co-chair of the subcommittee’s Collections Committee) is a retired librarian with 15 years “active duty” at a community college in North Carolina where staff not only dealt with books, but also taught classes on using online resources.
Joan Muyskens Pursley (vice chair) is a retired magazine editor and the author of four books and more than 200 articles. She is one of FOL’s founders.
Nancy Tarpley (secretary and volunteer coordinator) was a technical writer and editor of software documentation.
Diane van Naerssen (Collections Committee co-chair) has a Master of Library Science degree. She worked in publishing in New York City and later worked in public, academic, and church libraries.
Fred van Naerssen (treasurer) is a retired CPA from Price Waterhouse and Union Pacific and the husband of a retired librarian.
Lorraine Wilson’s professional experience spans human resources, office management, and insurance industry agent/broker, reflecting a strong foundation in organizational support and leadership.
The library is open daily from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. A PDK phone app or card, available at the HOA office, is needed for access. Volunteers are available to help patrons Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Fridays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.