New Library Director Will Relocate From Turners Falls, MA – Where Her Last Post Was Director of the Orange Public Libraries, Orange, MA
The Cortland Free Library Board of Trustees today announced that it has hired Jessica Magelaner, MLIS of Turners Falls, Massachusetts as its new Library Director. The appointment was made based on a vote taken at the Board’s regular June 26th meeting, following an extensive, two and a half-month nationwide search. Magelaner begins on July 1st and will fill the position held by two interim and locally-known co-directors — Priscilla Berggren-Thomas and Kay Zaharis — after the library’s previous Director exited at the end of March, 2024.
A native of Granville, Ohio, Magelaner brings 14 years of librarianship — including 12 years of supervisory/library management experience — to the post, serving most recently as Director of the Orange Public Libraries, Orange Massachusetts since 2016; there, she also oversaw nearby Wheeler Memorial Library and Moore LeLand Library. Prior to that, Magelaner was Assistant Director/Interim Director of Mason Library in Great Barrington, Massachusetts (2011-2016), a Library Specialist I for Freedom Regional Library in Charlotte, North Carolina (2004-2010), and a Periodicals Assistant at Denison University, Granville, Ohio.
“The search committee was impressed with Jessica’s experience, particularly her attention to community needs, collaboration, outreach, and consensus-building. She’s well versed in creating and implementing special projects, overseeing collections, initiating community outreach, and staying up to date with technology. We look forward to welcoming her and know that the community will benefit from her experience with a wide array of programming for all ages and constituencies,” said Board President, Lauren Mossotti-Kline. “I’m extremely grateful to the Trustees and staff who were engaged in the extensive search, which included multiple interviews, candidate visits to Cortland, and following up on numerous references.”
For her part, Magelaner looks forward to moving to Cortland, gaining a full appreciation of community dynamics and needs, and building on the Library’s legacy of excellence: “I’m grateful for this opportunity to work with a devoted board and a talented staff here in this beautiful historic building. I look forward to serving as your library director, and though there are many challenges facing libraries today, I’m committed to finding solutions together with the Cortland community,” shared Magelaner.
Highly competent in all areas of library service – including circulation, children’s services, senior services, reference, and all aspects of management — Magelaner earned her Master of Library and Information Studies (MLIS) at the University of North Carolina Greensboro, NC and her Bachelor of Arts in English, from Salem College, Winston-Salem NC.
Wrapping up the announcement, Mossotti-Kline expressed heartfelt appreciation to Priscilla Berggren-Thomas and Kay Zaharis for their service as interim co-directors – and to the Library’s staff for their steadfastness, patience, and focus during this period of transition.
“We quite literally could not have done this without Priscilla and Kay holding the fort while our Board and personnel committee, in particular, conducted the search that led us to Jessica,” she said. “And the same is true of our exceptionally devoted staff. We are unceasingly grateful.”
We’re excited to share the news that Cortland Free Library has been awarded $2,000 in state funding and to express our gratitude to Senator Lea Webb and her staff for including our library in this allocation! We’re grateful for the recognition of the vital work libraries like ours do in our communities, and we’re proud to be included in such exceptional company, aka our peer libraries who are also recipients of this funding, all of them terrific and deserving institutions in their respective communities and service areas. In the video below, our Board of Trustees VP John Hoeschele joined other representatives from recipient libraries in expressing their thanks, touching upon likely uses for the funding, and the role libraries play in our communities.