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MOUNT KISCO, N.YIn the new year, the Mount Kisco area will be without a staple of the community of the last 10 years. Susan Riley, the Mount Kisco Public Librarys director for just over a decade, will move her respected talents south, to the Mamaroneck Public Library, starting officially on January 16.
Rileys greatest contribution will long be remembered, which was her leadership in completing the construction of the latest library, which was re-opened just over two years ago.
Building a new library is a once-in-a-career kind of thing. Its what Im most proud of, Riley said. It was exhausting, and also a lot of fun. We love the new building, and we think its a big asset to the town. Im pleased I could complete that project for the town.
The move was not an easy one, as the construction took roughly three years to complete. The library could not be put on hold, and was moved to the old community house on Maple Avenue for the three years, waiting for the new structure to house them.
She really tried to make sure that our hours would work and support us as a staff. The move was stressful, and was hard on the staff, said Mary Ayers, the head reference librarian. We had to share telephones, computers, desk space. Susan made things flexible enough so we could all get through it.
Along with giving the town a new structure, and helping her staff get through the change, Riley made sure that the new building would have solid foundation, both literal and figurative. Over her tenure, the librarys circulation increased more than 50%.
Ayers will be the interim director until a new director comes on board. She has the tough task of guiding the library through the budgeting process, as the new budget is due in February, says Ayers. This is not unseen territory for her, as Ayers was interim director for nearly four months, until the library chose Riley 10 years ago.
Im going to keep the building running while the board looks for a new director to keep us going, she said. Shouldn't be a lot of changes, but Ill be the one people will need to contact with questions or problems.
Riley has had to handle those tasks for the last decade, and she hopes that how she handled them, along with the impressive move back to Main Street, will be remembered fondly.
I guess, in your career, its what contribution have you made to the community that you worked, or the organization you worked for, Reilly said. So I hope everyone in Mount Kisco has come to appreciate the library in the community a little bit more because Ive been here, because of my leadership.
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