Tompkins County Public Library director to retire

In late October, Tompkins County Public Library (TCPL) announced that Library Director Annette Birdsall has decided to retire, effective May 1, 2021. Birdsall, reflecting on her time at TCPL, shared some of her favorite memories and described her plans for continuing to guide the library through the pandemic.

Birdsall has a long history of loving libraries. She moved to the county when her kids were in middle school, which gave her the opportunity to explore what she wanted to pursue. She soon took a position at Cornell University and earned her master’s in library science at Syracuse University while working there.

“Libraries are a haven for so many who are looking to find a way to connect, to create, to discover, and so many times, libraries’ accessibility opens up that pathway to providing the world information and opportunity that people just may not be able to find in the usual structures of school or other paths,” she said. “So, I have a strong, overarching desire to keep libraries available to everyone whenever they need it for whatever reason.”

Following that passion, Birdsall sought to become not just a public librarian, but specifically to work in youth services at TCPL, a goal she soon accomplished. Birdsall described her journey from there.

“I was here first for a few years before I became the youth services consultant for the Finger Lakes Library System and then went on to become the director at Trumansburg [library] and then came here as the director,” she said. “[I] was circling back to where I started, with my love of libraries providing access and changing lives and being such a stronghold for those engaged in our mission of learning, discovery and personal growth.”

At TCPL, Birdsall brought with her 20 years’ worth of experience working in and advocating for public libraries. While she was the director at the Ulysses Philomathic Library in Trumansburg, for example, she helped the library to eliminate fines, improving equity and access.

When Birdsall started as TCPL’s director in 2017, she continued with her commitment to make libraries a community resource for all residents. Like in Trumansburg, she led TCPL’s move to eliminate fines in 2019. Her dedication did not go unnoticed.

“Annette Birdsall’s tenure at TCPL has been defined by her work to increase access, break down barriers and interrupt institutional inequities,” said TCPL Board of Trustees Chair Luca Maurer in a recent press release.

That mission became all the more important when the pandemic hit. COVID-19 shut down the library back in March, and TCPL wasn’t able to reopen until mid-June. But Birdsall and her staff took swift action to continue providing for the community despite the shutdown. Immediately after the pandemic hit, TCPL worked to move as many of its services as possible to a virtual environment.

Some of the efforts Birdsall and her staff took included providing online library card applications so people could have access to the library’s digital collection, removing password protections on library Wi-Fi so people could still connect when in proximity of the building and creating book bundles for patrons to enjoy physical books while the lobby was closed.

“We really look to the entire community to say ‘what’s next’ and to inform our decisions about what we’re able to continue [in order] to do our work,” Birdsall said of her strategy during the pandemic. “We do what libraries always do, and that’s to provide access, whether it’s to information or opportunity to support the community.”

One change in particular — curbside access — helped to fill a need that had existed long before the pandemic.

“We’ve known for some time that access to our buildings is limited because of the parking situation and just the size of our building,” Birdsall said. “For some people, it can be really hard to navigate. So, having people able to drive up and grab their books has been phenomenal. It’s an answer to ongoing and long-standing needs.”

TCPL’s efforts to continue providing for the community also included making the BorgWarner Community Room available for things like the census and blood drives. These and other resources have been well appreciated by the community, Birdsall said.

“It has just been absolutely amazing how people have responded to having library resources available to them,” Birdsall said. “The benefits that have happened have been truly astonishing, even though some of our services are still so limited.”

When the library was finally able to offer inside services like in-lobby pickup, the response was overwhelmingly positive.

“We’ve had some absolutely beautiful comments that have even … brought people to tears because they had missed [being in the library] so much,” Birdsall said. “Even though they had access to books through online access, just this part of their life mattered that much, and so, it mattered just as much to us.”

That enthusiasm has continued, and patrons are eager for more offerings. Birdsall said the library is still working on providing more inside services like allowing patrons to browse the shelves.

As far as retirement goes, Birdsall said she made the decision to retire mainly to spend more time with loved ones.

“I will be spending more time with my family,” she said. “I have two grandchildren, 5 and 2. And I definitely want more time with them. Then, I’ll have to take a little time to pause to see what’s next.”

Birdsall said she has great confidence in TCPL’s ability to continue in its mission up until and well after she retires, largely due to the library’s new 2020-25 strategic plan, which she helped create. It centers around a dedication to equity and community, with the three main goals of improving access, sustaining valued programs and services and encouraging belonging.

“For the near future, [our work] will look much the same — trying to improve access, to break down barriers and make sure that we’re really, truly reaching our goals of serving the entire community,” Birdsall said. “I know the staff and Board of Trustees will want to see that this work continues well into the future, no matter who comes after me. And they’ll have that strategic plan as a guide.”

In the meantime, the staff at TCPL expressed their thanks to Birdsall for all her hard work and the work still left to do until she retires in May.

“Annette’s steady direction has … been critical to navigating the COVID-19 pandemic,” Maurer said. “We are grateful for her continued leadership during this unprecedented time as we work to provide the public with access and services over the next six months.”

For Birdsall, the feeling is mutual.

“We have an incredible, incredible staff and the committed trustees and a community that values libraries,” she said. “I can’t even express how much that means to the heart of this community, and [it’s] something that I’ll cherish.”

The TCPL Board of Trustees will lead the search for the library’s next director in the coming months. Visit tcpl.org for more information on library programs and services.