Shelley Holley, Frisco STYLE’s 2019 Person of the Year, is Frisco’s own version of a main character who has beautifully navigated her own story, while impacting the lives of countless citizens through her work as the Frisco Public Library’s library director. Her hard work, stewardship, leadership and vision are truly incredible.
Mrs. Holley went to college at Brigham Young University (BYU). “It was at BYU that I found my first job working at a library. I worked at the university library’s local history and genealogy reference desk. It was such a pleasure to help people look for their ‘roots’ and seeing their excitement when they found a record with their ancestor’s name or information,” she remembers. She also participated in a study abroad program and took classes at the University of Florence in Italy. “The time I spent in Italy changed my perspective and I began to appreciate the world from a different point of view. I loved traveling and still do,” she says.
While in college, Mrs. Holley met and married her husband after they met (in storybook fashion) in a library. The Holleys have two sons, Matthew and David.
It was when Mrs. Holley accepted a job as the children’s librarian years later and her family moved to Frisco that she truly realized Frisco was no ordinary community. Mrs. Holley is proud of her husband, children and their families, the Frisco Public Library and the staff that has worked so hard to make it one of the most remarkable libraries in Texas. She is proud to have graduated as a member of Leadership Frisco Class 19 and loves being part of the team that built the Frisco Heritage Museum. She has served as president of the Public Library Administrators of North Texas and as the president of the Texas Municipal Library Directors Association. She also served as a member of the team that designed and built the new location of the Kurth Memorial Library in Lufkin, Texas, and received the 2018 Mayor’s Award from Mayor Jeff Cheney.
Thank you for all you do for our community, Mrs. Holley!
