DOUG OUT
When Doug Oldham first helped out at the Mammoth Lakes Library, it wasn’t as an employee, but as a volunteer with a toolbox.
He moved to Mammoth in 1990, and spent his first years working stints at Alterra and at the hospital. After some time, he wanted to give back. So, naturally, when the library needed someone to change lightbulbs and move boxes, Oldham signed up.
“I’d been a patron of the library ever since I moved here,” he recalled. “Helping out just felt right.”
That small act of volunteering led to a part-time desk job, just eight hours a week. After some time, he was offered an assistant role at 15 hours a week, and eventually became a supervisor in 2003. Now, after 24 years of service as “the tall guy at the front desk,” Oldham is retiring.
For him, the library is more than just some bookshelves and computers. It is a safe space for the community.
“The library is an equalizer,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re rich or poor, it’s there for everyone.”
Oldham has seen sweeping changes over the years: the rise of the internet, the flood of patrons during the 2008 financial crisis — when sometimes 500 people a day came in to use computers — and, more recently, the slow shift toward e-books and digital audiobooks.
Despite those shifts, one thing never changed for him: the joy of helping people.
“When you’re able to help people, especially kids interested in finding books on animals or whatever their interest is, it’s a lot of fun being able to show what we have,” Oldham said. “The excitement that they have is contagious.”
He remembers days he spent hauling out “boxes upon boxes of books” to stock the library’s annual parking lot sales, which sometimes had 40 tables of offerings.
“I had fond memories of doing that,” he said. “It was a lot of work, but also, it felt good to be able to provide that service.”
In those moments and throughout the years, he found community in the countless familiar faces that stopped by his desk, and with the Friends of the Library, the coalition of volunteers who worked to support the library and fund its new building.
“All of [the Friends of the Library’s] support over the years has been a great experience,” he said. “And they’ve been welcoming ever since I started volunteering there.”
Retirement, for Oldham, isn’t about slowing down. He’s eager to spend more time with his grandson, hike the Eastern Sierra, and maybe join a friend on trips to national parks across the country.
Hawaii, a favorite destination, is still on the list. And yes, he’ll keep rotating through his collection of Hawaiian shirts – a hallmark symbol of his laid-back style and sunny attitude.
Oldham doesn’t plan to leave Mammoth Lakes. The mountains, the friends he’s made, and the trails still waiting for him are reason enough to stay.
“It just felt like the right time,” he said.
He’s looking forward to the next chapter, and, of course, to the next good mystery novel.
To celebrate Oldham’s retirement, the Friends of the Library is holding a reception on Sunday from 1-4 p.m. at the Mammoth Lakes Library.
