A few years ago, a library consultant who passed through Lawrence concluded the Lawrence Public Library offered the best programming of any public library — other than Denver and San Francisco — west of the Mississippi River.

“We’re pretty proud of that, and the credit goes, I would say nearly 100 percent, to Sandra,” said Bruce Flanders, library director.

That’s Sandra Wiechert, community relations coordinator at the library since 1994. After 16 1/2 years on the library’s reference desk and nearly a decade of planning programs, writing the library’s newsletter and publicizing events, Wiechert is retiring Wednesday.

“I continue to absolutely love my work, and my fondest hope was to go out ‘on top,’ when library audiences, patrons, staff and community leaders … still seemed happy to see me and responsive to my work,” said Wiechert, who’s close to “retirement age.”

A reception honoring Wiechert will be held from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday in the library auditorium, 707 Vt. The library hopes to fill Wiechert’s position soon.

“We feel we can’t get along without it,” Flanders said. “She does so many things.”

During her tenure, Wiechert organized 288 programs, 26 book discussion groups (with 120 books read), 50 Sunday musical concerts, 180 art exhibits, 60 community/agency exhibits and 18 film series. She also produced 96 issues of “Connections,” the library’s monthly newsletter, and established partnerships with 20 Lawrence groups and businesses, including four bookstores, six Kansas University schools and departments and Haskell Indian Nations University.

Ann Evans, director of the Lawrence Arts Center, said she appreciated the community ties Wiechert forged.

“I really value how she developed library programming to go along with the other arts and cultural events in the community and how enthusiastic she was about everything,” Evans said. “A really enthusiastic person is a joy to work with.”

For Wiechert’s efforts, she received the Phoenix Award for the Literary Arts in 1999 — as well as praise from her colleagues.

“Under Sandra, our programming, the quality and the scope … has just flourished over the last few years,” Flanders said.

Wiechert said she was most proud of her adult book clubs, especially two that focused on Muslim women in literature and books by American Indian authors.

“I think most people had never read Muslim or Native American literature before,” she said. “This just opened up a whole new field, seeing a culture from the inside out rather than the outside looking in.”

Of her programs, she recalls with the most fondest her first and last. In 1991, she put together a program about buffalo soldiers. To her surprise, six real buffalo soldiers — all in their 90s at the time — came from Kansas City for the program.

Earlier in April, longtime Sports Illustrated writer Bill Nack came to Lawrence, sharing stories about Secretariat, Cassius Clay and others during his visit.

It’s also become a tradition for Wiechert to donate her fine china and linens for the library’s annual children’s tea party. She plans to continue that tradition as long as the tea endures.

“It is a labor of love,” she said. “The children are so happy and so well-behaved. They so enjoy having real linens and real embroidered napkins and fine china. It’s a treat for me to see them.”

Wiechert plans to travel a great deal in her retirement, as well as spend more time on hobbies, such as quilting, gardening and canning fruit.

“My hats off to Sandra. I really respect her and what she’s done for the library,” Flanders said. “We need to find someone to step in and fill that position in a way that we can keep those good things going.”