Library director marks one-year anniversary

MILLERTON — December marked the one-year anniversary of Rhiannon Leo joining the NorthEast-Millerton Library staff as the library director. During that year, Leo has helped institute several new changes to the library.Besides aesthetic changes — the library interior has received a fresh coat of golden paint and new carpeting — Leo and her team of volunteers have been rearranging the shelves to make room for all of the new books that have been added to the library’s stock.Leo said she has been studying the needs of the community and learning what the library patrons like to read so that her new book purchases will match the personalities of the readers.“I really enjoy working with the people that come in here. They’re just so great,” she said.Among the new programs she has started at the library are a photography contest, a drawing contest for children and a children’s music concert.“I’m a big fan of art,” she said, explaining that she received her degree in Visual Arts and Photography from SUNY Purchase in 2004.She plans on introducing more adult programs next year, including computer classes in both English and Spanish, a class to teach library patrons how to use the online ebook and audio book programs and an author lecture series.Leo, who has wanted to work in a library since she was a child, has worked in a few other libraries, but said she really enjoys the atmosphere at the NorthEast-Millerton Library.“It’s nice to work in a town that really appreciates their library,” she said. “This library definitely has been loved.”She said that her patrons often reminisce about the library and tell her stories about its history and its special place in the community.“It’s a nice place to be and I definitely enjoy it.”

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