New West Newbury Library Director!

Corinn Flaherty has been selected as the new Director for the G.A.R. Memorial Library in West Newbury.  She will succeed Susan Babb, who has served as Director since 2013 and who is retiring on June 28th of this year.

“We are very proud to be able to welcome Corinn as our new Director, and we look forward to working with her as we embark on a new chapter for the G.A.R. Library.  The library is truly a central feature of our town, and we are excited to look to the future under Corinn’s vibrant leadership,” said Marcia Sellos-Moura, Chairperson of the Library’s Board of Trustees.

Ms. Flaherty, who holds a Masters of Library and Information Science degree from St. John’s University in New York, has been serving as the Assistant Director for the Salisbury Public Library for the past three years.  Prior to that, she held various positions at the Tewksbury and Boxford libraries.  Ms. Flaherty also has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Massachusetts College of Arts in Boston.

Corinn Flaherty will become the eighth director in the Library’s history, the first being Caroline Carr who started as director in 1894.  Ms. Flaherty says about her new position, "This is such an exciting time to be a public librarian because libraries are no longer defined simply as repositories for information.  An established and beloved library like G.A.R. Memorial has a huge potential to inspire and bring people together in new ways.  I am thrilled to have this opportunity and look forward to getting to know the community and learning about their ideas for making the library even better."

The Board of Trustees extends an invitation to all local residents to visit the West Newbury Library after July 1st to welcome Ms. Flaherty in person.