PRESS RELEASE
January 27, 2022
For Immediate Release
Media Contacts:
Kathy Chandler, Library Director, Kathy.Chandler@PitkinCounty.com, 970-429-1910
Martha Durgy, Librarian, Martha.Durgy@PitkinCounty.com, 970-429-1931
Laura Armstrong, Communications Director, Laura.Armstrong@PitkinCounty.com, 970-309-7191
Librarian Martha Durgy to Retire from Pitkin County
Following 25 years of service to local readers
Pitkin County, CO- Librarian Martha Durgy will be retiring this Saturday (January 29th) after working at the Pitkin County Library for more than 25 years.
Martha came to Aspen in June of 1989. She immediately began working at Explore Booksellers after tallying a perfect score on Katherine Thalberg’s employee entrance book knowledge screening exam. Accepting a job at the Pitkin County Library came after years of work at Explore and later at the Aspen Bookstore in the Little Nell Hotel. Martha studied English Literature at the University of Michigan before completing a degree in Interior Design at Michigan State University.
Soon after accepting the Library job, she spent three years’ worth of weekends commuting to Denver to earn a Masters of Library Science.
With her dry wit and artistic eye, Martha launched the Library’s e-newsletter in 2011. That same year, she also started the Library’s first book club, “Train Dreams,” which she has agreed to continue hosting during her retirement. She’s been the driving force in developing many library programs for the community on travel and cinema. She forged strong working relationships with Aspen Words, Aspen Music Festival & School and the Aspen Institute in co-hosting programs, all while keeping the local newspapers and radio stations apprised of library happenings.
Her intimate knowledge of the community, which was so useful during the Pitkin County Library’s 2015-2016 capital campaign, will be dearly missed. She looks forward to finally reading the owner’s manual for her 2016 Subaru and leash-training her cat. Literature, music, movies, art, friends, family and the beautiful Roaring Fork Valley will continue to feed her heart and soul.
###