In his first few weeks on the job, Chris Shoemaker, Director of the Rye Free Reading Room, checked out the “Wiggle and Giggle” program, watched teens mastering calligraphy, chatted with the members of the Knitting Club, called several of the private clubs to offer rainy day space for campers, and attended two City Council meetings.

By Robin Jovanovich

 

In his first few weeks on the job, Chris Shoemaker, Director of the Rye Free Reading Room, checked out the “Wiggle and Giggle” program, watched teens mastering calligraphy, chatted with the members of the Knitting Club, called several of the private clubs to offer rainy day space for campers, and attended two City Council meetings.

 

In addition to bringing enthusiasm and energy to the position, Shoemaker, 30, brings with him six years of working as a Young Adult program specialist in the New York Public Library system.

 

“I heard about the opening in Rye when I was up visiting a former supervisor, who works at the Harrison Library,” he said in a recent interview. “I took a peek at Rye and liked everything I saw.”

 

While he’s still trying to get to know the staff and the community — Shoemaker lives in Manhattan’s Financial District — he said he’s already thinking about new directions for library.

 

“A library is a free education resource,” he said. “More self-guided learning can take place here. We can be a mini Rye university. I’d like to get a seed library started in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields. Maria (Lagonia) recently started a series on holistic, natural medicine.”

 

Shoemaker said he’s also really excited about “libraries as community spaces.”

 

At the library’s June Board meeting, a new strategic plan was approved, which Shoemaker said will take the institution solidly and broadly forward in a number of ways. “Our new mission statement is to be a diverse place to inspire.”

 

In reports and general conversation, the community has always had high praise for library staff, and the 100-year-old landmarked building and the Community Room addition, noted Shoemaker. He said that the board has had preliminary discussions about interior design modifications to the first floor — a new Circulation Desk, opening up the space to make sight lines more visible.

 

Shoemaker has a lot on his shelf in the next few months. The library will begin its centennial celebration September 21, with a party on the Village Green. Photographs tracing the library’s history will be on changing display in the Community Room. “And teens will be a part of our yearlong celebration, helping the library recreate its history,” added the youthful Director, who is also the incoming president of the Young Adult Library Services Association.

 

His arrival in Rye is the beginning of a great new chapter for the library.