By Jacquelin Apsler
The Lincoln Public Library Trustees are pleased to announce our choice of Melissa Roderick as the new Lincoln Public Library Director.
Melissa has served the Lincoln Library as our assistant director for 11 months prior to being selected as the library’s director. In her short time in that role, Melissa made a very positive impact with enhanced social media engagement, a new and more efficient online staff scheduling process, and her service as the project manager for designing the new website that is under development.
Before coming to Lincoln as the assistant library director in July 2022, Melissa worked at the Winchester Public Library for over 10 years, first as their reference and young adult librarian for a year before being promoted to head of circulation. In that role, she managed operational responsibilities such as hiring, onboarding, training, supervision, scheduling 24 staff members, and overseeing adult fiction purchases and programming. Prior to working in Winchester, Melissa spent four years as a circulation assistant in the Woburn Public Library. References from her previous employment consistently described Melissa as warm, responsive, competent, direct, and honest with a high level of energy and positivity and a “can do” attitude.
In her short tenure as the assistant library director in Lincoln, Melissa earned high regard and appreciation from the staff. The following paragraph sums up the many positive comments from the staff that were shared with the hiring committee: “Melissa is approachable, listens well, has a sense of humor, makes firm decisions, and most importantly, clearly communicates those decisions. Her leadership skills are held in high regard, and, as a staff, we have been grateful for the channels of communication Melissa has instituted.”
In addition to building strong internal relationships, Melissa has already become the new “face” of the library in town. She participates in numerous town-wide committees and activities; is eager to learn all she can about the library and Lincoln through a myriad of trainings, and workshops; and has developed warm relationships with most of the other town employees with whom she will be working and collaborating. Several town employees offered the hiring committee examples of the many positive ways in which they and Melissa have interacted during her short time in Lincoln.
Melissa earned a Bachelor of Arts in English with a minor in legal studies from UMass–Lowell and a Master of Library Science and Information Science from Simmons University in Boston.
I want to thank the hiring committee that worked hard to thoughtfully review all the materials for the candidates that helped the trustees make the final decision – six staff members, the president of the Friends of the Lincoln Library, a patron, the assistant town administrator, and all six trustees. We are all eager to move forward with Melissa at the helm.
When you have a moment, please stop by to welcome Melissa in her new role as the Lincoln Library director. We plan to have a formal welcoming reception in the near future as well.
Apsler is chair of the Lincoln Library Board of Trustees.
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Great choice! Congratulations to Melissa.