“Shh…be quiet” is the usual mantra of librarians, but the new director of the Hoboken Public Library, Lina Podles, hopes to make some noise with ambitious plans for the future.
Podles was chosen to head the public library by the seven-member Hoboken Library Board of Trustees recently. The board, whose members serve on volunteer basis, is appointed by the mayor and responsible for reviewing the library’s yearly budget, applying funds toward improvements and selecting the new directors.
“[Podles] really stood out as someone that could lead the library into the future,” said Board Trustee and City Public Information Officer Michael Korman last week. “She has a great resume and has been the director of five [Manhattan] branches. We were very impressed with her motivational skills and her leadership abilities and that should be effective in heading up the library.”
Podles, who currently lives in New York, only started the job Tuesday but has already found an appreciation for the Hoboken community.
“The first time I saw [Hoboken] I really fell in love,” said Podles in an interview last week. “It’s a real neighborhood community but it has access to everything that is in the city. Hoboken deserves a library that matches its beauty.”
In the recent past, the library has had a difficult time holding on to directors. Podles will be the third director in the past two years. According to Board Trustee and Hoboken Human Services Director Robert Drasheff, one of the biggest problems with keeping directors has been in the city’s residency laws, which state that a person who works for the city must live there too.
However, according to Drasheff, the city recently decided to grant exemptions when special licenses are needed for a position. Out- of-city residents can be hired for those special need positions if no Hoboken residents with the required credentials have applied. Podles’s hiring will fall under the new policy and she will not have to fulfill residency requirements.
Podles is a firm believer that a library is an important quality-of- life institution and many newcomers and current residents will judge the community on the condition of the library.
“A library is important to a city,” she said. “People come here to do research or to use the facility and, depending on the shape of the building or the collections, they will pass judgment on the city as a whole. It’s essential that the library in good shape so that it represents the city well.”
Podles begin working in the library system a little over 10 years ago, when she started out as a librarian trainee. She got her certification and worked here way up to librarian, then to senior librarian and rose to become a director of five branches with over 65 employees.
While in Manhattan, she was active in organizing book discussions and a poetry group. She hopes she can begin some of the same programs to Hoboken.
“That’s the fun part,” Podles said about the prospect of extending services to include book discussion and music appreciation groups. “I would do that anyways, so if I’m able to do it as part of the job then that’s just an added bonus.”
She said that Hoboken’s library is an outstanding old and historic building, but because of its age, it needs significant upkeep. “It’s a great building, it has a definite charm, but it is also is in need of renovation,” she said. “We need an elevator. Right now its not accessible to all the seniors in the city. There are mothers that are forced to haul their children up three flights of steps. We need a library that is accessible.”
Until recent years, the library was behind in technological advances. Today, it is part of a computerized network of more than 70 libraries, so library patrons can get books from other libraries by reserving them over the computer. The library also now rents out CDs and movies.
Podles also would like to expand the space for meeting rooms and provide activities for seniors, adults and children, but she realizes that the ideas she brings require substantial funding. “This is my first week here, so I can’t say that I know every little thing that needs to be done,” she said. “But I will work with the city and I will find funds that will help the library either through the city or fund raisers. I’m not going to be able to tell you where we will be a year from now, but I will promise to work hard to find the solutions to any problems that we will face.”