Library Director

Roberta Gonterman Library Director/Librarian

Roberta started working for the Bonaparte Public Library on October 1, 2014.  She came with 12 years of library experience  from working in the school system.  She worked under the tutalege of Michelle Bentler during her time with the school.  

Roberta and her husband, Marty, live north of Bonaparte, in what they jokingly call "Yoderville", because they are surrounded by Amish families named Yoder.  They have the local Amish bakery just down the road and five sawmills near them.  One of the local Amish schools is about a mile from their house.  There is a local Amish Greenhouse that is very busy in the spring. They live on the family farm and enjoy watching the deer romp through their yard or sneak up to peak into the living room windows.  Occasionally they are escorted into the driveway by a small herd of deer.  In August of 2019 they rescued three black kittens that were abandoned on the highway.  They decided to raise them, and they are the most spoiled cats in the area.  They greet anyone who enters the house, and will be on their laps seconds after the person sits down.  If you want to see pictures of Marty's pride and joy just ask him to see his kids (the kittens).  Marty will talk your ears off about what the cats are up to any time you want to listen.  Marty works for Cornerstone/Ceco from Mount Pleasant.  Due to the pandemic he continues to work out of an office in the basement.  They are the parents of two daughters, Heather, who lives in northwest Iowa.  Jamie, lives in Birmingham, Iowa.  They are the proud grandparents of three granddaughters, Kiersten-24, Brianne-22, Amelia (Mia)-14, two grandsons, Calen-11 and Tobin (Toby)-8, four granddogs, two grandcats, one great grand dog, two great grandcats, a great grandferret, a great grand snake, 2 great grandgekkos, and a great grandlizard.

Heather is an office admin at three Kuerig-Dr. Pepper warehouses.  She enjoys her job.  She gets to boss people around (just teasing).  Heather is the mother of two daughters, Kiersten, is in the last semester of her BSN nursing at South Dakota State University.  After graduation she will be starting a position at Sanford Hospital in Sioux Falls in the Emergency department and start training to work with the flight rescue.  She also minored in Spanish. She has done an internship in Peru, December 2019.  Brianne is her second daughter. She currently is living in northwest Iowa.  She has taken courses on computer repair.

Jamie is the mother of three very active young people. Jamie keeps busy with the challenge of home schooling her children, works part time for her church with the Family Ministry, she does respite for a friend and she works part time for an apartment complex weeding their flower beds.  Amelia, is 14, and will is a freshman this year.  She takes piano and flute lessons.  She is busy with her church youth group, school band, school plays and church programs.  Calen, is 11, and in seventh grade.   He is taking trumpet lessons, and is getting interested in drums. He is playing football.  He is our little handy man.  He has his own work bench in their basement.  He tinkers with trying to repair broken items.  He is active in church activities too.  Toben (Toby)  is her youngest at 8 , and in fourth grade.  He loves his Legos.  He is always building with them.  Their house always has some kind of construction going on, whether it is a puzzle, legos, or repair job, the kids keep busy.  It is also a house of critters.  They have a snake , and lizards, plus two big dogs.  We never know what will greet us when we walk into their house.  It is always an adventure when grandpa and grandma go for a visit. (Yes, the director has held the snake and let it slither up her arm.)