Trumansburg library seeking new director

The Ulysses Philomathic Library is looking for a new director. Current Library Director Ksana Broadwell recently announced she will be departing later this year to spend more time with family.

“The easy answer is ‘working mom, pandemic burnout,’” Broadwell said about her decision to leave the job. “My work-life balance got unbalanced, and it’s time to fix it. It wasn’t making sense anymore for my family.”

Broadwell said her daughter will be turning 5 next year, and her family’s plan has been for her to be homeschooled when she reaches school age.

Stevan Knapp, president of the Ulysses Philomathic Library Board of Trustees, said the tentative schedule is to accept applications through July 17, followed by virtual interviews for five or six candidates with the search committee.

“The search committee will then select three candidates to make community presentations the second week in August, with a final selection and offer hopefully made by late August or early September,” he said.

So, what is the Board looking for in a director for the library?

“Ideally, the next library director will be a compassionate and innovative leader who has the ability to advocate not only for UPL but also for the community members it serves,” Knapp said.

The application and job description can be found at trumansburglibrary.org/UPL/about/careers.

Having volunteered at the library while in college, Broadwell joined the staff in 2014 and served as a children’s librarian before becoming the director in 2017.

“My favorite part of the job is the people — the patrons, the community, the staff,” Broadwell said.

Saying the pandemic presented challenges is an understatement, but Broadwell feels UPL has “done a really good job serving patrons” during the last 17 months. She said the library’s heating, ventilation and air conditioning system also is in the process of being replaced, which is why the facility has not fully reopened yet.

“The plan was to replace the heating and cooling system, pre-pandemic,” Broadwell said, adding that the project will see the installation of air source heat pumps. “After the project, the library will use 100% renewable energy.”

But the library has been delivering materials to patrons online and through curbside pickup, as well as offering browsing appointments for a limited number of people to come in at once.

“I’m really proud of the work everyone has done,” Broadwell said.

Library staff has also been able to help people with nonbook needs. Broadwell said it was interesting that so many people had printing, faxing and scanning needs but noted that not many people have a printer at their homes.

“People [came in who] needed to update their wills,” she said, adding that there was high demand for book borrowing, too. “This is a community of readers. Circulation is about half of what it was [pre-pandemic], but we have hundreds of books going out into the lobby [for pickup] every week.”

In late June, the library expanded its browsing-by-appointment hours. Patrons can now browse or use the computers during appointments that can be scheduled between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Tuesday and Friday, 1 to 7 p.m. Wednesday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. Please note, masks are still required for people at the library. To schedule a browsing appointment, call (607) 387-5623.

The library is planning some in-person programming that will take place outdoors this summer. Educators from Cayuga Nature Center will be on-site at 6 p.m. Thursdays, now through Aug. 12, teaching all about nature in our backyard and community. Outdoor storytime takes place at 11:30 a.m. Fridays, now through Aug. 13.

“We are renting a tent for the South Street lawn for six weeks,” Broadwell said. “So, we will have in-person programs under the tent.”

For more information about the library, its services and hours, visit trumansburglibrary.org.

In Brief:

Maguire relocates body shop operation from Trumansburg

The Maguire Family of Dealerships recently relocated its body shop work and employees from its Trumansburg base of operations, but the remainder of its services remain in the same location.

“We’re definitely not closing the Trumansburg dealership,” said Maguire’s Marketing Director Ashley Greenlee. “We moved the [body shop] employees and that business to our other locations.”

She said Maguire is still able to accommodate the same amount of work among its other body shops and stressed that Trumansburg’s location is still serving customers’ car-buying and insurance needs.

“The actual dealership is fully open,” Greenlee said. “The same with our insurance agency and brokerage. It is still fully open.”

Kids’ farmers market starting this week

Trumansburg Harvest, a free kids’ produce market, will take place from 3 to 6 p.m. Thursdays from July 15 through Aug. 12 at the Trumansburg Fairgrounds. All families with children ages 18 and younger are welcome to attend.

Kids will be able to go through the small market and select produce. The first few hundred families will receive a free reusable bag and recipes for meals that use the weekly produce will be provided.

Produce offerings will change weekly, and food demonstrations/sampling and entertainment also will be on site for some of the evenings. For questions or comments, email Ethan Cramton at egc24@cornell.edu.