Texas librarian considered for Mattapoisett library director

MATTAPOISETT — The Mattapoisett Select Board interviewed a librarian who currently works in Texas for the town’s library director position Wednesday, April 24.

Colleen Tierney, a Providence College graduate with 20 years of library experience, spoke with the Mattapoisett Select Board regarding the role. The current interim director of the Mattapoisett Free Public Library is Susan Pizzolato, who took over after former library director Jennifer Jones resigned in November 2023 to become the director of Lakeville Public Library.

A native of Syracuse, New York, Tierney is currently the director of library services for the public library in Kyle, Texas — a suburb of Austin.

“Sharing resources, sharing space and sharing stories is really kind of my heart,” Tierney said. “That’s what I’m all about, and that’s why it’s like a dream job to be a library director.”

She said libraries are about “people.”

“To me, being a service-oriented librarian, it’s about how do I find a way to make sure that we’re serving the community in the best way possible, and I’m always looking in depth at things from that lens,” Tierney said. 

In her current role, 13 employees work under Tierney. She said getting to know and building rapport staff would be the biggest challenge at the outset of the role in Mattapoisett.

“I would want to make sure they would know that I’m there to support them and to continue the quality of services that they’re currently providing and that my agenda is not at all to change things but to support and uphold what’s already existing,” she said.

Utilizing space, like for creative displays or the “library of things” is one opportunity for the Mattapoisett Free Public Library, according to Tierney. The library of things specifically poses a particular challenge in making it accessible while not overwhelming an area of the library, Tierney said.

Tierney also said she would be interested in bringing about opportunities through the library for younger and older people in Mattapoisett to interact and learn from each other, especially as technology has widened the “distance between generations.”

“I think that’s something that the community could benefit from,” she said.

Tierney received a Master of Science in library and information science from Syracuse University and since 2011 has worked in different roles at libraries in the Austin metro area.