Only a short time will span between Alex Gutelius’ move and the start of her new job as director of the Clifton Park-Halfmoon Public Library.
Planning to move from a small town outside Toronto, Canada, when her children finish school Thursday, June 26, Gutelius, 42, will officially take her new post Tuesday, July 1.
This is a big move for me, said Gutelius, who has lived in Canada her entire life.
Gutelius will move with her husband and three children, who she said have shown varying degrees of enthusiasm based on their age.
Her husband, originally from Westchester County, is familiar with the area, and Gutelius has a good feeling as well.
`It seems like such a vibrant and live library,` Gutelius said. `I’m excited to go into a community where the library is so central.`
She said the library has several programs that seem to draw crowds, which she said shows how the town values the public library.
Board of Trustees President David Golden expressed his excitement about bringing Gutelius on board saying, `She brings the perfect mix of executive and library experience we need at this stage of our development.`
Under the North American Free Trade Agreement, librarians are able to easily obtain a Visa to work in either the United States or Canada by showing their degree and offer letter at the border.
Gutelius currently works at Vaughn Public Libraries as a director of service delivery where she oversees the staffs of several libraries and serves more than 250,000 residents in communities around Toronto.
Before working at Vaughn, she worked at a small public library in Canada for 10 years.
With her 18 years experience, Vaughn said she is not so concerned with the overall job, as much as with acquainting herself with the small differences in the community.
`I think it will be exciting,` she said. Although, Gutelius admitted that getting her children settled into a new community will be difficult.
`There is a lot to do between now and then, but I am really looking forward to starting my new job,` she said.
Gutelius said she initially sought a degree in journalism from Carleton College in London, Canada, but shortly after entering college, she changed her major to history and English. However, she said, she did not want to be a teacher, which would be the logical job considering her background. She recognized her love of reading and combined that with her enjoyment of working in the university library, which lead her to seek a master’s of library and information science from the University of Western Ontario.
Gutelius has been working in the library since receiving her degree.
As a child, Gutelius said her mother would laugh because she always had her `nose in a book.`
She shares her love of reading with her oldest daughter, in fact she said, she has to tell her to put her book down for dinner.
Gutelius enjoys the `Anne of Green Gables` series by Lucy Maud Montgomery.
Although she prefers fiction, Gutelius is reading `Looking for Anne: How Lucy Maud Montgomery Dreamed Up a Literary Classic,` by Irene Gammel, which explains the rationale behind the book series.
Her love of the Gables series is clear, as she named one of her daughters Anne.
Gutelius will replace Josephine Piracci, who will retire in July after 32 years of service to the library.
`It’s going to be hard to fill her shoes,` Gutelius said of Piracci.
Beginning in September, the library will remain open until 9 p.m. on Monday and Thursday nights.
A survey conducted by the library’s Board of Trustees, which was available at the library’s circulation desk, revealed that 64 percent of survey participants were in favor of extending hours with the majority of respondents preferring the extension during weekday evenings.
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