Mattapoisett Library nears final step of director search

May 28, 2020

MATTAPOISETT — The Library Director Search Committee and Library Trustees met on May 27 to interview two candidates to replace Susan Pizzolato when she retires in June, but held off on a decision to talk with library staff about their needs in a director. 

The board spoke with Ellen Snoeyenbos, the director at West Bridgewater Public Library, and Jennifer Jones, the assistant director at Plymouth Public Library. 

Snoyenbos has been in her current role for four years, and previously spent 17 years at Duxbury Free Library. 

Jones has been at Plymouth Library for 13 years, starting as youth services librarian and working as Manomet branch librarian before becoming assistant director. 

Both candidates answered questions about how they would reopen the library to the public. 

Snoyenbos said the “challenge of the pandemic adds a whole other level of complexity,” to her job. 

However she appreciates it in a way because she strongly believes in having core values and a vision for the library and has seen how the pandemic has led to “everyone pulling hard in the same direction.”

She said with her staff she has moved from a monthly staff meeting to weekly meetings.  

Snoyenbos would be nervous and slow to reopen, but wanted to keep using online resources even after reopening. 

Jones can “see how it will be challenging with social distancing,” but added, “I think there’s a lot of opportunity.” 

She focused more on physical measures, like making stairways one way and figuring out how to use elevators, and where to station staff. 

She  mentioned that installing plexiglass in front of staff will help. 

However, she acknowledged there are “things that you won’t be able to make a plan for that will just happen,” once the library reopens, and she will have to figure out how to deal with them. 

Fortunately, if she ever feels out of her depth, she said there’s a wealth of reopening plans from other libraries to look at. 

To determine when to reopen, Jones said she would talk with Town Administrator Michael Lorenco or see what phase of the state’s plan libraries would fall under.