A chapter ends

Longtime Five Towns resident Arleen Reo, the director of the Peninsula Public Library, who has had a lasting impact on many of the patrons she has assisted, is retiring after 35 years as a librarian. Her retirement is official on May 31.

“It’s hard to imagine the library without Arleen at the helm,” said PPL Trustee Joan Lepelstat, who has known Reo for 23 years. “She’ll be greatly missed.”

Reo, who graduated from Lawrence High School in 1965 and lived in Woodmere until five years ago, has held various positions in her three decades at the Lawrence facility, including children’s librarian, reference librarian, assistant director and, for the past 12 years, director. “I love the patrons, community, staff and I like helping in any form,” she said, explaining that she is planning to move to North Carolina for part of the year to be with her daughter and granddaughter. She also has another daughter in Florida.

While working on her master’s degree in library science at Queens College, Reo started at the library as a trainee. When she graduated in 1972, there were no positions available at Peninsula, so she went to work for the Queens Borough Public Library system for seven years and took some time off until 1984, when there was an opening in Lawrence for a children’s librarian.

Joel Schiff, president of the PPL’s Board of Trustees, said that the library has been lucky to have Reo. “She understands what we’re doing and has worked well with the trustees as we look for a new site,” he said. “She’s gone through the ranks, knows the community well and understands our patrons. I hope she enjoys her retirement and finds things to stay active and fulfilling, and she is the type of person to do that.”

Frances Galante, a Woodmere resident who has brought her three children and four grandchildren to the library for the past 25 years, said that Reo helped them not only when they were young, but as they matured and had school projects to complete. “She has always been very accommodating, and I was so pleased when she was asked to be the director because you like to see someone that has dedicated her whole life to the customers and the library get that kind of position,” Galante said. “She’s invigorated the whole system there and I’m very sad that she’s retiring, but I’m happy for her because I’m sure she’s looking to spend time with her own daughters and grandchildren.”

Lydia Kowalski has been a PPL patron since she moved to Lawrence 25 years ago, and has brought her three children and grandson to the library. She said she hopes Reo enjoys her retirement. “Everybody has the right to retire in peace and enjoy their life going forward,” Kowalski said. “Maybe she’ll come back, poke her head in, and people at the library can call her for advice because she’s had a tremendous impact.”

Woodmere resident Dagmar Fodiman, who has known Reo since she began working at the library, said she had no idea Reo was retiring until she visited the library. “I saw flowers on the counter and asked one of the staff members if there was any special occasion, and they said Arleen was retiring,” she said. “I must be the last to know. She will be sorely missed. She is a lovely lady and has done a wonderful job.”

Fodiman added that Reo was always willing to help her and recommend something. “She’s always been very helpful to all the patrons,” Fodiman said. “She’s friendly, warm, helpful and caring. I wish her a wonderful life and I hope she enjoys her family. She’s worked very hard and it’s a well-deserved retirement. I wish her luck in whatever she does in the future.”

The library is conducting a search for a new director, but Reo’s shoes will be tough to fill, said Lepelstat, because she took on many responsibilities. “We’re looking for someone to implement the board’s vision for a new library with increased outreach services in the community,” Lepelstat said. “We’d like to see more interaction with the school systems, both private and public. The real goal of the board in the next few years is to find a site for a new library, and we’re relying on the new director to keep the public abreast of what the board is working is on. The director will be the face of the library in the community in addition to the board.”

Schiff said that the Board of Trustees will interview all the candidates with the hope of having a new director in place soon. “We would like to have this wrapped up in June,” he said.