After working as a librarian for 46 years, Judy Flum’s time doing that job is nearing an end.

Flum has been a librarian at Contra Costa College for over 18 years. She said she has always worked at public libraries, but she really likes working at college libraries in particular, because she feels like college students have a lot of needs and she likes contributing to them and feels like she can make a difference in students’ lives.

“I ended up at CCC because originally I wanted a better work schedule as a mom,” Flum said. “As I looked into getting this job I realized it used more creativity than I expected. I have a lot of creative energy so it fit right in.”

Senior Administrative Assistant Magda Mercado said, “I am going to miss how Judy brightens up the room with her positivity and creativity.

“She is very hard working and dedicated,” Mercado said. “She puts so much on her plate that it is going to be hard for someone to take her place.”

Flum said her favorite thing about her job has been helping students. She has dedicated her time in her career to help students in any way. She and the other librarians care deeply about helping the students be successful and they go out of their way to fulfill the needs of the students.

“Being an academic librarian is totally different than being a public librarian,” Flum said.

Academic libraries support the teaching and research of a university or college and its faculty and students while a public library is accessible to the general public, not necessarily just a college or university community.

In her time here at CCC, Flum has become the co-manager of the Library, a librarian and a library professor. She said it may be hard to believe but she does so much as a librarian that she does not even get time to read as much as she wants for herself.

She has earned her certificate to teach online while working at CCC.

“I have learned a lot. I learned different creative ways to teach students how to learn information, like literacy skills,” Flum said. “I had no idea what that was when I worked at a public library, so I had to learn all about that and how to teach and how to manifest it and create the requirement that they had.

“I feel like I have worked really hard, put my heart into this job and really do care deeply about the college and its students,” she said. “It is really nice to hear and it really means a lot to me to know that people have appreciated what I have done as part of the Library team. I couldn’t do it without my team because it has been all of us, not just myself. I am glad some people have benefited from my work.”

Mercado said, “She is really irreplaceable. She will be missed dearly.”

Andrew Kuo said he has known Flum since 2006.

“She has been a very great teammate. She is friendly, outgoing, enthusiastic and has very creative suggestions and ideas when it comes to work.”

Flum said if she still knew how to work 40 hours a week she would honestly continue to work.

“I may come back later on just to be at the reference desk, but for now I want to give myself the spaciousness of time to figure out what I want to do with the rest of my life.”

“I don’t think I have ever been away for even two weeks, but I am really going to miss all of it,” she said.