by Robert Kimmel
With a new, enthusiastic director at the helm, there are expectations that Tarrytown’s Warner Library will become even more prolific than it is now in attracting community participation in a variety of programs and events.
New Warner Library Director Maureen Petry. Photo by Rani Levy
Just over 80 years have passed since Worcester Reed Warner helped dedicate the library that he and his wife, Cornelia, had built as a gift to the village. Warner envisioned the library as a place where, “helpful books should be made accessible to all.” While Warner may have been a visionary, it’s unlikely he foresaw how today’s library has evolved into an institution that engages the public in a wide range of activities.
The new Library Director, Maureen Petry, who took over that post two weeks ago, sees libraries as “the heart of the community.” Petry worked in the Westchester Library System for 17 years and was children’s librarian at the North Castle Public Library in Armonk until her selection by the Warner board of trustees. She had also served at Pace University’s Hayes Library for three years.
“I feel comfortable coming to the Warner Library,” Petry said, noting she has been a long time resident of Sleepy Hollow. Her familiarity with the villages as well as her knowledge of the library apparently played a part in her selection by the Warner Board of Trustees.
“She has a lot of experience and we loved the fact that she is local, knows the community very well, and grew up here,” said Carin Rubenstein, chairperson of the board. “We really liked that. When we met her, we found her to be charming, politically astute, and we got rave references about her managerial skills. We are excited and thrilled to have her here.”
“We hope she will expand and enhance our dreams and visions for the library, making it more of a community center by helping all members of the public, no matter what language they speak or what age they are, to use our facilities,” Rubenstein added.
Petry is in accord with that concept. She describes herself as a “customer service person.”
“I anticipate reaching out to every community group,” she said. “By touching base with every community group, we can determine what the library could mean to them.”
Members of the library’s staff also praised the new director.
“I’m very impressed with her qualifications,” children’s librarian Patricia Cohn said. “She’ll be a great asset to the community, and we’re very excited.” (Cohn had served as acting director during the interim period prior to Petry’s selection).
Petry’s appointment comes at a time when the demands on the library’s free services are growing, presumably, in part, because of the troubling economic conditions. Although the library has not yet compiled usage statistics for this year, anecdotal evidence points toward more people utilizing all of its facilities, including its computers.
“Adults are using the computers for all kinds of things, from resumes, job applications, research and social networking,” Cohn said, adding in addition to its own computers, the library has a wireless connection to the Internet so people with laptops can search the web.
Warner Library’s public programs include activities for residents extending from pre-school to adult events, along with crafts, concerts, lectures, movies, game nights and book sales, among its many offerings. It is a participating sponsor of the Hall of Fame essay contest for 10th graders at Sleepy Hollow School, for which students must do research at the Library or the Historical Society serving Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown. That has brought a rush of students to the library over the past weeks, according to Liz Siracusa, young adult librarian at Warner.
As “the heart of the community,” as Petry would describe it, the Warner Library appears to have a strong beat, pushing a rapid pulse.
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