Longtime Lake County Public Library director Ingrid Norris retiring; career there started more than 40 years ago – Chicago Tribune

Ingrid Norris of Lake Station always expected she would be an educator.

When she returned to the region after college, she made it a point to take substitute teaching jobs in every school she could, knowing one day she would get noticed and earn a coveted spot.

In one of those assignments, she subbed for a rambunctious class of fourth grade boys who all had a crush on their teacher who was on maternity leave. That experience, she said, challenged her desire to be in a classroom full time. The assignment led to a job offer, right about the time another offer came in from the Lake County Public Library.

When at the urging of her father she looked at what would bring her the most joy, in her heart Norris knew the answer was the library. She thinks back to that teacher and the child she would eventually deliver and attributes her career to that baby.