7548-R1_NewGloucester_2019-2020_AnnualReport_Web

Recognition of Service to the Town of New Gloucester Suzan Hawkins was hired as Librarian of the New Gloucester Public Library in 1982 and served in that role for the next 38 years until late 2020 making her the longest serving librarian in the history of the library. Sue is proud of the work she did for the community as an employee of the town. Her efforts were recognized when she was awarded the Employee of the Year Award by Bob Leighton, a long time selectman and library supporter. She would later become an integral part of the committee that erected the gazebo in Bob’s honor after his death. During her tenure Sue saw multiple changes in the library world. When Sue started there were no individual library cards instead people’s names were put on the card in the back of the book. There were no VHS, DVD, or audiobooks and there were no computers. Sue saw the library through all of those changes. One of Sue’s favorite changes/additions were the cake pans which patrons can check out. At the time the cake pans were first introduced, a story ran in the local paper and appeared in additional library related stories around the nation. Sue was part of the library move from the old library (now the town meeting house) to the old high school (the current library) just a few short days after the ice storm of 1998. Sue remembers books being placed on double sided book carts and being rolled across the parking lot. The assistant librarian position was created later that year. Sue’s favorite library memories come from the patrons and the sense of community and family they brought to the library. Sue considered every patron part of her library family. She could be seen at numerous sporting events, school functions and recitals as she supported the children who frequented the library. Sue cannot go anywhere without running into someone she knows from the library. Sue especially loved working with children and watching all her “library kids” grow from babies at story time to graduation from high school and beyond. Sue was never so busy she couldn’t stop and read to a young patron, play with toddlers, or help a reader find the book they were looking for. Sue loved her kids so much she spent one night a year sleeping on the library floor as part of the Library Sleepover. Some of her favorite activities with the kids included story time, 4H, craft nights, book club and the end of summer reading program play.

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