About Our Staff
Amy Ryder: Spruce Mountain District Librarian Amy Ryder became RSU 73's district librarian in 2016. She loves serving the four schools, 1500-ish students and hundreds of staff of her community. Mrs Ryder runs the SMHS Makerspace and Read What You Want Book Club. She lives in Jay with her husband and two children. When not at school or driving her kids around, you can find her hiking, running, reading (of course), or at the beach.
When asked what she likes best about the library, Mrs Ryder responded: "Let’s be honest: sometimes schools have to teach things that people don’t use very often. In the library we don’t have that problem. We teach reading, research, and technology skills. No one gets through a day without using all three of these! I also love being able to work with a huge variety of people every day. My 'students' are sometimes kids, and just as often teachers, principals, or others in the school community."
Mrs Ryder was previously a middle school librarian, taught 5th grade and preschool, and worked in the children's room of a public library. She earned her MLIS and certification at Simmons College GSLIS in 2004 and her education degree at University of Maine Farmington in 1998. Because Mrs Ryder travels to all four libraries, the best way to reach her is through email at aryder[at]rsu73.com.
Karly Wilkins: Spruce Mountain Elementary School Library Ed. Tech.Miss Wilkins has been the library ed tech at SMES since 2013. She attended Livermore Falls schools and grew up in our area, then graduated from UMF with an elementary education degree. Miss Wilkins loves sharing cool books with students and getting to know every student in the school. She also loves childrens' books just as much as her students do!
Miss Wilkins belongs to the Spruce Mountain PTO and organizes the Storywalks. She loves Bruins hockey and spending time with her family, especially her new nephew. In her free time, she bakes and decorates cakes, does crafts, and enjoys reading.
Kerry Brenner: Spruce Mountain High School Library Ed. Tech.
Mrs. Brenner has recently joined the faculty at Spruce Mountain High School as the Librarian Ed. Tech. She previously worked at Greene Central, RSU 52, as an Ed. Tech. Interventionist. Mrs. Brenner currently lives in Livermore with her husband and two of her four sons. She grew up in Kalamazoo, Michigan and graduated from Western Michigan University with a B.S. in Paper Science. Her hobbies include: baking/cooking, hiking, reading, and traveling.
Deb Lemire: Spruce Mountain Middle School Library Ed Tech. Before the middle school became Spruce Mountain, Mrs. Lemire started working for the Jay School System in 1998. Her first 7 years were spent working as an Education Technician in Special Ed. In 2006 she moved into the position of Middle School Library Ed Tech and feels so fortunate to be able to work at a job she loves. Being able to encourage students and assist them in their search for the perfect book is one of the best parts of the job. She always has a list of books students request and does her best to fill them whenever possible. Mrs Lemire holds two Scholastic Book Fairs in the library each year, one in the spring and one in the fall. The students look forward to these fairs, which give them the opportunity to check out the latest titles, purchase books, or request new titles to be added to the library.
Mrs. Lemire has been married for 45 years and has 2 grown children. Anyone who knows Mrs. Lemire knows that she is an avid Patriots fan!!! In her spare time she loves to bake, work on her Swedish weaving projects and, of course, READ.
Cheryl Mills: Spruce Mountain Primary School Ed. Tech.
Mrs. Mills is the Spruce Mountain Primary School Ed. Tech. She began working in the Livermore/Livermore Falls system in January of 1984. Her first 14 years were as an Ed. Tech. in Special Education. Since then, she has served as the Library Media Ed. Tech at LES/SMPS where she truly found her passion for instilling the love of books and reading. When asked what her favorite part of the job is, her reply was, “I love capturing that wonder in a child’s eyes as I read to them!” She loves to have fun and has a history of, literally, wearing many hats and dressing up.
She has served many roles over the years, including a member of the former parent teacher organizations, Scholastic Book Fair chair, summer reading programs, fundraiser chair and co-chair which, with the support of a generous community, earned the funds for all the playground equipment, she was a playground committee member, and has spearheaded publication of two school cookbooks. She has served many years as, and is currently, the SMPS elected Association rep for Secretaries and Ed. Techs and a negotiator.
Mrs. Mills is married and has raised two boys. The best place she ever visited was Hawaii and would now like to get to Alaska. She and her husband are currently building their own house and doing it all themselves. Her hobbies include reading (of course!), dabbling with photography, traveling, crafting, wandering through antique shops, snowshoeing, dancing, and karaoke.
