Clark County Librarian Retiring After 27 Years
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By Emily Bontrager
Kay Sprague has been the librarian at the Clark County High School and Clark County Middle School since 1996. At the end of December, she will be retiring after many years of dedicated service.
Mrs. Sprague, 55, lives in Clark County and she grew up in the area. Kay graduated from Clark County High School in 1986 and continued her education at Northeast Missouri State University. She graduated in 1990 with a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education.
Kay is married to Brad Sprague and they have two children, Addison and Brynn.
Growing up, Kay always used to play school with her siblings and she usually always played the teacher. After high school, Kay decided that she needed to pursue a career, so she chose to study education.
“I’ve always enjoyed working with students and I love children and I loved education, so that is why I chose that degree when I went to Northeast,” Mrs. Sprague explained.
After graduating from Northeast, Mrs. Sprague started working as a substitute teacher in Harmony, Iowa. She also subbed at schools in Gorin and Revere, Missouri.
“I also was hired as a para at Clark County. Then, I went to Revere for four years,” Mrs. Sprague explained.
In the fall of 1992, Mrs. Sprague started working at the Revere school as a part time elementary teacher and librarian. In the fall of 1996, she was hired as the librarian at the Clark County High School and Clark County Middle School.
Over the years, Mrs. Sprague has seen a lot of changes in technology while working as the librarian.
“When we first moved into this building, I believe we had maybe ten desktops against one wall and we did have access to internet. We had access to online databases, but at that time, the information came on CDs and it had to be uploaded to the server,” Mrs. Sprague explained.
As time went on, more computers were added to accommodate more students.
“Within the last seven years, we went with Chromebooks, which was another change. The students each have a device in hand and so now, they don’t come to the library and see me like they used to,” Mrs. Sprague said.
One of the things that Mrs. Sprague will miss the most about her job is working with the students and the staff. December 31 will be Mrs. Sprague’s official last day as the school librarian. She doesn’t have any big plans after retiring, but she wants to spend more time with her family.
“I don’t really have any plans. Both my parents are deceased now, and we sold our family home just recently. I have gathered a lot of childhood things and they are currently in boxes in my basement. That is the first order of business once I am retired here,” Mrs. Sprague said.
“Once that is done, my daughter is graduating in May from college and my son is getting married in October, so I just hope to be freer in spending time with my children.”
Mrs. Sprague would like to thank Clark County for giving her a chance when they first hired her and for all the support she has had over the years.
“At that time, I did not know much about technology when I was hired. I know that was a concern of theirs that I had not done much at all with computers or any kind of technology. I believe I embraced that, and I believe I have shown that I stayed on top of things,” Mrs. Sprague said.
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