SEARCY — When JoyLynn Edwards retired from Unity Health a few years ago, she said she wanted to stay busy, and that was a benefit for the White County Regional Library System.
Since spring 2016, Edwards has volunteered at the Searcy Public Library for more than 500 hours, with a majority of that in the Arkansas Room.
“I was a clinical laboratory scientist at Unity Health, and I was there for just over 35 years,” Edwards said. “Working for as long as I have, I didn’t think I could sit around the house and do nothing. I started looking for places to volunteer. I knew I would enjoy the library.
“I enjoy genealogy, so they put me in the Arkansas Room at the Searcy Public Library,” she said. “That is where I do my thing.”
While working at the library, Edwards said, she does research for people who either call or email the library.
“I’ve really enjoyed it,” she said. “Every time someone sends them an email or calls in and asks for information that is historical in nature, the people at the library will give that information to me, and I’ll look it up. I’ll either call the person back or email them and tell them what I’ve found.
“I’ve talked to people from West Virginia, California and all over who have ties to White County.”
Darla Ino, director of the White County Regional Library System, said Edwards is an asset to the library.
“She has been working in our Arkansas Room with records from White County, Arkansas and surrounding states,” Ino said. “She works on straightening out the room, straightening out the collections. I know she’s helped me with a project to rearrange things so the items were where they needed to be within the collection.
“She’s a delightful person with a big smile. She is always very willing to help. After she retired, it was something she had on her list of things she’d like to do and came to us. We’ve loved having that help.”
Ino said Edwards volunteered 192 hours from April 2016 to March 2017, and 196 hours from April 2017 to March 2018, then 118 hours from April 2018 to March 2019.
“She has really helped with that Arkansas collection,” Ino said. “That’s her love.”
Edwards is originally from northeast Texas. She met her husband, Alan, while she was teaching biology at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro.
“We just wound up staying here,” she said. “I didn’t think I’d ever leave Texas, but I did. I’ve lived here more than half my life.”
Edwards said her mother and her maternal grandparents are from Arkansas.
“I still love Texas, but I love Arkansas, too,” she said. “My mom was born here anyway, so it does feel like I’ve come home.”
Edwards and her husband have two sons who both graduated from Searcy High School and one grandson.
Retirement has kept her busy, Edwards said.
“Since the first of the year, I’ve been trying to be there on Tuesdays and Thursdays,” she said. “Some people say that when you retire, you are busier than you were before you retired. That sort of happened to me.
“I had to rearrange my schedule. When I first started at the library, I was there every day. I had other interests and things I wanted to do.”
Edwards said working in the Searcy Library isn’t her first time to spend time around books.
“When I was in high school, I worked in the school library during my study hall,” she said. “One of my favorite people was the librarian, so I’ve always had a special love for libraries.”
Staff writer Mark Buffalo can be reached at (501) 399-3676 or mbuffalo@arkansasonline.com.