Our Team
We’re excited to help you any time!
Mandy Cook
Director
Reading is very important to Mandy, but connecting with kids is just as much or more important. If you know Mandy, you know that’s HUGE! Mandy loves to be silly with kids–especially aged third grade and up, so it is great that she works with older kids. She’ll leave it to Ms. Lesa to deal with the sticky fingers and multiple hugs. 🙂Â
When Mandy was young, she sometimes got in trouble for reading TOO much. Who needed to do their chores when a new book was waiting?! She still feels this way, but luckily, she no longer gets in trouble for that. However, her mom doesn’t always appreciate when she comes with the inevitable rainbow hair colors!Â
Mandy has worked at the library since 2013 and has been director since 2022. Before that, she worked at a few places after graduating from Emporia State University, but when she started at the library, she knew she was home.
Mandy is a Marysville native and lives with her husband, Brian. Her oldest, Ian, is at Wichita State University, and her youngest, Nathaniel, attends Marysville High School. Her bonus daughter, Ariona, attends Duke University.Â
She continues to be active in her community. Mandy believes supporting the arts is very important, whether you are performing, presenting, or an audience member, you are wanted and loved.
Come check out the rainbows in Mandy’s office!
Email Mandy at mandycook@bluevalley.net.
Lesa Dierking
Storytime guru
Lesa’s passions of working with children and literacy make her job at the library “the perfect job.” “I’ve always said, I have the BEST job in town!!!” During the school year, she leads a children’s storytime on Tuesday morning and a family storytime on Thursday evening. In August 2023, a Tiny Tots LapSit Storytime for babies, birth to 18 months or so, and their caregivers, was begun. Summer reading program planning begins as soon as the previous one is completed, and ends after a hectic six (or more) weeks’ of events in June and July. Â
Born and raised in Alma, Kansas, Lesa earned a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Emporia State University. After only teaching a few years, she married Bruce, her husband, and moved to Marysville. Soon after, she began working in 2002 at the library, took a few years off when their daughter, Allison, was born, and returned in 2011.
Bruce and Lesa are very active in our community and church. Allison is graduated from Marysville High School and is currently attending Mom’s Alma Mater, majoring in Art Education and is a “Marching Hornet” in the band. As a family, they have enjoyed traveling. Lesa has visited almost all 50 states (Hawaii and a couple of East Coast states to go); Alaska and Maine have been favorites, along with international travel to Germany, Canada, the Caribbean, Mexico, and most recently Cuba. Now with an empty nest, Bruce and Lesa hope to be able to travel again, including internationally. Lesa enjoys crocheting, sewing, and painting in her spare time — really pretty much any type of crafty activity.
Email Lesa at lesadierking@bluevalley.net.
Jacob Knutson
Interlibrary Loan
Jacob began working in the Lincoln Library System and after about an hour of being there, decided that working in the public library was what he wanted to do forever. However, since he was only hired on in Lincoln as a part time seasonal employee, he began his search elsewhere. Marysville was the perfect landing spot to help with a variety of programs and gain the knowledge that only comes from experience.
Jacob is a newer addition to Marysville and to Kansas. He comes from Palmyra, NE, which is a very small town outside of Lincoln. He is an avid reader, video game player, and will forever support the Huskers.Â
E-mail Jacob at jakeknutson@bluevalley.net.
Dé Oehm
Cataloging
Dé is originally from Brazil and has been living in Oketo since 2016. She was an exchange student back in 2001, and that’s how she met her husband, and ended up moving to the United States. They have twin daughters who definitely keep life busy.
 Dé’s been working at the library since 2017, and she can’t imagine doing anything else. Her job includes cataloging new materials, repairing the ones that need some TLC, and sending overdue notices to patrons who may have forgotten to return items on time. Dé enjoys reading about different places, people and cultures, and loves spending time with her family.
E-mail Dé at doehm@bluevalley.net.
Alyssa Feldkamp
Library Aide
Born and raised in Marysville, Alyssa graduated in 2007. She only left town for a few years to attend Kansas State University, where she received her Bachelor’s in Operations and Supply Chain Management. While at K-State she met her husband, Andy, who lived in Manhattan but was driving to his family-owned furniture store in Marysville daily. They bought a house in Marysville to settle down and run Feldkamp’s Furniture Mart together. Alyssa decided to be a stay-at-home mom once their son Jaxon joined their picture in 2014 and broke his first furniture store inventory item. Next came the birth of Jayden in 2016, and their 3rd son, Hudson, in 2019.
Alyssa started in 2023 and her primary job is decorating, creating book displays, and creating the monthly newsletters, Spice of the Month and Adult Craft. She loves any holiday or party she can theme, and shares a passion with her family to create just-because parties that they can dress up for.  Alyssa has babysat many other children under her roof over her years home and has a passion for teaching little ones through storybooks and hands on learning. Her family is very active in their church and with their children’s sports and dance lessons. In her free time you can catch her sewing, reading, working out, or enjoying the outdoors with her family.
E-mail Alyssa at alyssafeldkamp@bluevalley.net.
Dylan Bush
Library Clerk
Dylan was born in Belleville, KS. They moved from Marysville to Springhill, KS, and then back again in 2021.
Their interests include reading, video gaming, and creating art. Working at a library has been a dream for many years; Dylan especially appreciates being a part of the community being built at the Marysville Public Library.