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Last month, we bid a fond farewell to our lon-time caretaker, Tom Burke. Tom was a familiar sight in the library as he handled the deliveries, the coordination of maintenance and repairs, and the general upkeep of the building.
Everyone misses Tom, but we all wish him the best in his retirement and hope he will visit us regularly. Miss Meghan left New York to return to her home state of California, and Marianne Pei retired to be closer to her family as well.
We welcomed several new employees -- Kenji Kaneshiro at circulation, Terry Numa as head of youth services, Deanna Smith as our new children's librarian, Jack Weiss as a new reference and adult services librarian, and Gerardo Benavides and Isiah Green as new caretakers.
The library forged a new partnership with the Marine Education Center and thanks in part to the center's generosity, we have a fish tank in the Children's Room with native species of fish (be sure to find Yolanda, the acrobatic fish), horseshoe crabs and snails.
We also worked with the At Home on the Sound group to provide presentations for book group discussions and with the Mamaroneck Arts Council to host the annual holiday craft show.
We have partnered with several school groups -- currently we're supporting the Future Business Leaders of America from Mamaroneck High School as members coordinate a warm-clothing drive in our lobby through Dec. 15.
We introduced several new services and programs, including Tax Filing Assistance, Health Navigators, Coloring for Adults, weekly English conversation group meetings, Skype sessions with authors for teens, e-magazines and AARP Defensive Driving classes.
Looking ahead to 2016, we are excited to announce the title for our new "One Book, One Community" series of events scheduled for April. Using the book "The Boys in the Boat" by Daniel James Brown, we will hold a variety of program opportunities.
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