No Card Required: The Powerhouse Pair Behind Schoharie Free Library 

ROOTED
Written By SEEC Associates

It was the summer of 2021, and Jennie Mosher was holding things together with determination alone. As the sole paid staff member at Schoharie Free Library, part-time, no less, she was running Discovery Tuesday, the library's outdoor summer program, with the help of dedicated volunteers. Every week, 50 to 100 people showed up to a space that couldn't fit half of them inside. The world was hungry to gather again, and Schoharie's library was one of the few places saying yes, come.

Then Yvonne Keller-Baker walked in. A school librarian and lifelong Schoharie County native, she stopped by during a summer routine she shared with her own kids, library, pool, lunch, and found a library in transition, without a director, and clearly in need of help. She offered her summer.

She couldn't leave when it ended. 

Born and raised in Sloansville, Yvonne came up through the Schoharie school system, earned her master's in library science and returned not just with credentials but with perspective. When she stepped into the director role in 2021, she brought structure, innovation, energy, and a clear vision of what the library could become. Not quieter. More alive. 

Jennie's roots in Schoharie County were planted later in life. She arrived in 1988 when her husband took a job with the State, and true to form; her first stop was the library to get a card. She did story time when her kids were small, homeschooled in part with the library as classroom and social hub, and spent years as a dedicated volunteer. In 2017, she stepped into the Program Director role her own daughter had vacated for graduate school. 

Jennie's life outside the library mirrors the same rhythm of rural ingenuity and community devotion. She served on the Schoharie County Arts board organizing the county's first experimental music festival, serves as president of the Town of Schoharie Democratic Club, and remains involved in local efforts like Save Our Schoharie — all while building a path that spans studying at Wells College, assisted with acid rain research at a Cornell University field station in the Adirondacks, working in child services and serving as secretary of the Schoharie Reformed Church. Whether she's cross-country skiing or making art with a multigenerational circle of friends, the throughline is the same: she shows up, stays involved, and builds things that last.  

SEEC recognized Jennie at the 2025 Toast to the Town with the ENLIGHTEN Award, honoring her for cultivating “intellectual prosperity.” But inside the library, recognition is shared. 

“There’s not really a ‘me’ here,” Jennie says. “There’s an us.” 

The Schoharie Free Library traces its roots to 1916, when the Daughters of the American Revolution established it in the village. Its permanent home, a stunning Second Empire Victorian at 103 Knower Avenue, built in 1866 and donated by the Cushing family, became the library in 1963. The building celebrated its 60th anniversary in that space in 2023 and remains one of the county's most distinctive landmarks. Thanks to Schoharie's $10M Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) grant, the library is now awaiting allocation of nearly a million dollars in building improvements reflecting the value the residents place on this key asset. 

What Yvonne and Jennie have built inside is timeless with a fresh pulse: A third space. Not home. Not work. A place where you can exist without being asked for anything in return. No membership fees. No fines. No pressure.  

"There's something for everyone at every age, every ability," Yvonne says. "We work hard to make sure people know they're welcome." 

Kids take over the children’s area and aren’t asked to be quiet about it. Teens stretch out in their own alcove, surrounded by art supplies, games, and space that feels like it belongs to them. Adults gather for writing clubs, book discussions, or simply a place to sit without expectation. You don’t even need a library card to walk in.  

The numbers tell one version of the story. Program attendance climbed from 3,705 in 2023 to 5,463 in 2025 — attendance that rivals the entire service population of 6,000 people. What makes all this possible is far less visible. The library’s operating budget comes entirely from the local school district vote. Everything beyond that, programs, books, events, partnerships, is built through grants, donations, and constant fundraising. The team is small. The work is not.  

"Our capacity and what we're trying to do, do not match," Yvonne says with a knowing smile.  

The team is just four people: Yvonne Keller full-time, Jennie part-time, a part-time clerk, Kim, and a fourth position being hired for summer 2026.

Jennie has spent years writing grants that bring arts programming, digital literacy, and creative workshops to Schoharie Free Library, sometimes growing to include all four libraries in the county. When funding allows, partnerships like the woman-owned Studio for Art and Craft bring hands-on workshops in ceramics, stained glass, and jewelry-making directly into the library. Those programs fill hearts, hands, and waitlists. 

Yvonne has expanded that reach, designing a unified summer reading calendar across the county, connecting all four libraries with Youth Bureau programming, and launching a free weekly lunch program through the Joshua Project so no kid had to choose between a program and a meal. Yvonne’s work doesn’t stop at the front desk. She shows up everywhere, from school cafeterias to community festivals, making the library visible long before someone walks through the door.  

“Not everybody can make it all the way here,” Yvonne says. “So we bring it to them.” 

The team has quietly powerful values. Yvonne believes in buying local. Supporting neighbors. Investing in the places that invest back. Jennie believes in something even simpler. “It’s better to be kind than to try to make people think you’re right,” she says. “Everybody has value.” 

That belief lives in the way children are greeted by name. In the waitlists for free art classes. In the packed Friday morning story times. In the 200 people who show up to a summer kickoff party on the front lawn. In the feeling, immediate and unmistakable, that this place belongs to you. 

The Schoharie Free Library sits just off Main Street, walkable, on the bus line, and open to anyone who walks through its doors. No cost. No barrier. No expectations.  

This summer, the library’s biggest season yet is taking shape: Discovery Tuesdays, expanded weekly programming, a summer kickoff celebration that transforms the front lawn into a full community gathering. In June, Quilts in Bloom returns, pairing the work of the Schoharie Valley Piecemakers Quilting Guild with floral displays from Schoharie Valley Garden Club, drawing visitors from across the region. And in September, something special for the nation’s 250th anniversary. 

ROOTED

Interviewed and Authored by SEEC Associates, March 2026
Photos taken by Roslyn Rose Photography

RESOURCE BIN

Human

Yvonne Keller-Baker: Director, Schoharie Free Library
Jennifer Mosher: Program Director, Schoharie Free Library (SEEC 2025 ENLIGHTEN Award Recipient) 
Kim Charboneau: Clerk, Schoharie Free Library 
Jody DeJong has provided invaluable support as a library volunteer.  

Physical

103 Knower Avenue, Schoharie, NY 12157  
(518) 295-7127 

Hours 

  • Monday: Closed 

  • Tuesday: 10:00am – 8:00pm 

  • Wednesday: 12:00pm – 7:00pm 

  • Thursday: 11:00am – 6:00pm 

  • Friday: 10:00am Story Time | 11:00am – 6:00pm 

  • Saturday: 10:00am – 2:00pm 

  • Sunday: Closed 

Vote YES — School Budget Vote: May 19, 2026 The library's entire operating budget runs through the Schoharie Central School District annual vote. A YES vote supports operations, staffing, and building maintenance.

Financial

Industry / Services

  • Free Public Library — Free Wi-Fi & computers (no card required, no membership fees, no fines, no barriers to entry) 

  • Year-Round Programming (writing club, book group, art workshops, educational & informational talks) 

  • Summer Reading Program (Discovery Tuesdays, Story Time, Youth Bureau Fun Fridays, Summer Wednesdays) 

  • Youth & Teen Programming (dedicated teen alcove; Youth Bureau partnership; Learn 2 Braid series) 

  • Digital Literacy Classes (MVLS-supported; grant-funded; launched by Jennie 2019–2021) 

  • Community room available for reservation during business hours 

  • County-Wide Collaboration (programming partnerships with Middleburgh, Cobleskill & Sharon Springs libraries) 

  • Free youth lunches via Joshua Project (two days/week, summer 2025) 

Key Community Partners

  • Schoharie County Youth Bureau (summer programming across all four county libraries) 

  • Studio for Arts and Crafts — local, woman-owned (on-site arts workshops; waitlist programs) 

  • Mohawk Valley Library System (MVLS) — system support & grant facilitation 

  • Schoharie Valley Peacemakers Quilting Guild & Schoharie Valley Garden Club (annual Quilts in Bloom show) 

  • Schoharie Central School — ongoing community outreach 

  • S.C.H.O.O.L. (Schoharie County Home of Ongoing Learning) — co-programming partner 

  • Schoharie Valley Peacemakers Quilting Guild & Schoharie Valley Garden Club — annual Quilts in Bloom show

  • Joshua Project (free youth lunches, 2025)   

Digital

Website: www.schoharielibrary.org
Instagram: @schoharielibrary 
Facebook: @SchoharieLibraryNY  
Email: ykeller-baker@mvls.info,JMosher@mvls.info

SEEC Associates
Next

Small Business Owners Invited to Strengthen Financial Systems with Hands-On QuickBooks Training