By JEFF LIPTON
But come Jan. 11 Cole is leaving the library and scores of young adults and others she has helped along the way.
For the past 14 years she has developed all the programming at the library for students in grades seven to 12, purchasing all the materials for these teens. The challenge has been to keep them coming back to the library for more ‹ and at that Cole has succeeded with flying colors.
"I have mixed emotions," she said. "It's not easy to leave. I came here because it's a wonderful place to work.²
Cole said she's not sure what she will do after leaving the library, possibly take on a part-time job in the field. "I need to slow my life down a little bit," she said. "Now I don't want so much stress in my life."
She has been working at the library for a total of 16 years and in addition to being the young adult librarian, she is the adult reference librarian and she supervises the pages, who put the books back in order on the shelves.
Taking over her duties as young adult librarian will be Barbara Mickowski, who has also worked at the library for 16 years, including in information and reference services.
"Oh, I'm excited to work with the kids," Mickowski said. "I have to make sure that I transfer that into the interests they like. I took a lot of young adult literature courses and programming in school, which should be very beneficial.
"I would like to see more kids come to the library just because they like to read," she added.
Evelyn Rothschild, Oceanside Library director, said Cole "has been an asset to the library in every way possible. She has wonderfully creative ideas for programming."
From programs on dancing to cooking demonstrations, Cole has engaged the teens and kept up with what students want. Rothschild said Cole worked closely with Oceanside schools to "be as effective as possible in providing students with information for their assignments and getting databases used specifically for the classroom. She's been just terrific in doing that."
Cole said she has tried to stay current, keeping up with the latest trends for teens, which is not always the easiest job since their interests change from one day to the next.
Regarding this factor, she noted that over the years the biggest change has been the advent of computers, and how they are used by both librarians and the public to search for information. "People are more impatient now and they want their information right away," she said.
Cole said she will particularly miss the library staff she has worked with over the years, as well as the library's patrons, the children and their parents.
"It's always nice when I'm walking around town for them to recognize me and remember me," Cole said of the parents and their children. "I will miss them."
Comments about this story? Jlipton@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 210.
Photos by Bill Kelly/Herald
