A changing of the guard took place Wednesday morning as Zoe Pechter and Sondra Murphy read aloud to a group of youngsters at the Oak Bluffs Public Library. Regulars and newcomers to the children’s room eagerly pointed at the colorful picture books, laughed as they danced the Hokey Pokey, and sang along to “the French song,” a staple of Oak Bluffs storytime.
The change was ostensibly a personnel one. Ms. Pechter, who started her new job as children’s librarian on June 1, was taking the baton from Ms. Murphy, who is now the library’s director.
The Oak Bluffs selectmen this week appointed Sondra Murphy as the new library director. And Ms. Murphy is already presiding over some big events at the library: a new website, mission statement and logo, and a party complete with mini-golf.
Ms. Murphy, the former children’s librarian, was recommended by a hiring committee, and was appointed Tuesday by the selectmen.
“You did a fabulous job of interviewing,” said selectman Walter Vail, who was on the hiring committee. He noted that Ms. Murphy faced tough competition. “I recommend her highly.”
The Oak Bluffs library will be one of the first libraries in the country to be part of Google’s new indoor mapping project.
Sondra Murphy, the acting library director and children’s librarian, said a representative from Google’s Cambridge office e-mailed her “out of the blue” after finding the library’s floor plans online and asked if the library wanted to participate in the project.
“Okay, let’s do it,” Ms. Murphy recalled thinking.
A plan to convert the old Oak Bluffs library at the corner of Pennacook and Circuit avenues into a mixed-used commercial building with a pharmacy on the ground floor and affordable housing on the second floor has hit a snag, as bids for the project were substantially higher than expected.
The word library comes to us from the Latin librarius , meaning of, or relating to, books. But anyone visiting the Oak Bluffs Public Library on a Thursday afternoon might find such a definition sorely outdated.
Oak Bluffs Library Plans Are Studied; October Start Seen
By CHRIS BURRELL
Groundbreaking for construction of the Island's newest and largest library may begin sometime in October if bids - set to be opened less than a month from now - fall within the $3.2 million budget.
The roughly 15,000 square foot library will rise up behind town hall on Pacific avenue in Oak Bluffs, replacing the tiny quarters on Pennacook avenue.