Lynbrook librarian retires after 64 years of service

Whether it was working through the aftermath of a fire that destroyed part of the Lynbrook Public Library, becoming the first employee to have a computer at the facility or creating a tradition of displaying a dollhouse each Christmas, Dorothy Perrich experienced plenty during her more than six decades of service.

Perrich retired May 10, after 64 years at the library.

“She’s very sweet,” library Director Robyn Gilloon said. “Very lovable, very dedicated and interesting to talk to with all the history she knows about Lynbrook and the library. She saw many things, and was my go-to person as far as Lynbrook or library history.”

Perrich grew up in Brooklyn and got her start working in the Brooklyn Public Library. When her family moved to Lynbrook, she eventually got a job at the Lynbrook facility when George Xydias, a family friend who also moved to Lynbrook from Brooklyn and joined the village board of trustees, told her about an opening. She began working at the library on April 1, 1957.

When she came to Lynbrook, Perrich started in a clerical position in the library’s temporary quarters after an arsonist set fire to part of the old building. She continued on after the new facility was constructed at 55 Eldert St. When she began, she helped patrons check out books and filled out orders with a fountain pen and paper, but book ordering was the first process to be automated at the library, and she became the first employee with a computer at her desk.  Perrich said she was too ill to speak with the Herald before press time, but four years ago when celebrating her 60th year of employment she said that she enjoyed her time at the facility.

“I always liked books,” Perrich said. “And having been in the Brooklyn Library made it an easy switch to here . .. and I was lucky.”

Perrich went on to become the senior library clerk in Lynbrook and took on a leadership role, helping to train new staff members and show students how the library works while teaching them organizational skills. She also served as the library’s liaison to the Historical Society of East Rockaway and Lynbrook, and on several committees to plan celebratory events for milestone years in the village. Additionally, Perrich was active in her parish at St. James United Methodist Church and volunteered to organize Friends of the Library events.

Perrich said she likes historical novels, and some of her favorite authors growing up were Frank Slaughter and Bruce Lancaster. She added that when she was a student, one of the first books she fell in love with was “The Tale of Peter Rabbit,” by Beatrix Potter.

Upon her retirement, Mayor Alan Beach and the village board paid tribute to her at its May 17 meeting, and afterward, Beach lauded her dedication.

“It was an honor and a privilege to have her working in my village for all those years,” he said.

Much has changed in the library since Perrich began. She recalled the days when employees used to handwrite numbers onto the spines of books and label them manually. “You used to type out all the catalog cards,” she said. “We don’t have catalogs. The catalogs aren’t here anymore because they’re all digital.” She added that she did not grow up in school with computers, but learned to adapt and use them.

“It’s a great place to work, it really is,” she said. “It contributed a lot to me that I would never have had, not having married or having any children. Being here, you got to be friendly with kids and their parents, and it’s a nice atmosphere.”

Gilloon said the library wouldn’t be the same without Perrich. “She was fun and she was humorous,” she said. “We’ll miss her here.”