Stratford Library Promotes and Adds Staff
The Stratford Library has announced a series of promotions and staff additions to their Reference, Circulation and Children’s Departments. Director Sheri Szymanski noted, “We are pleased that some of our longtime employees have been promoted while also welcoming some talented new employees to our library.”
Szymanski announced that Caitlin Augusta of New Haven is now Head of Children’s Services. Augusta is a graduate of Wellesley College and the University of Illinois. She worked as the Assistant Head of Children’s at the Darien Library and then as a Youth Services Librarian at the Stratford Library in 2008 before the promotion. She has been awarded the Connecticut Library Association’s Faith Hektoen Award and the Connecticut Library Consortium’s Jan Gluz Cooperative Spirit Award for her work on international “Take Your Child to the Library Day”. She is the co-founder of Connecticut’s Set the Stage program, a training initiative for library workers in early childhood.
Two library employees have started new positions. Stratford’s Lisa Wargo, formerly of the Circulation Department, is now in Adult Services as its new Associate for Digital Literacy while Bridgeport’s Sid Yusmahniraak has transitioned from part to full time in the Circulation Department.
In addition, two new part-time Youth Services Librarians, Susan Breiner of Stratford and Sara Livoti of Orange, have been added. Breiner worked as a Teacher at Trumbull’s Christian Heritage School and also taught at St. James in Stratford and St. Theresa’s in Trumbull as well as Stratford’s Wilcoxson Elementary. Livoti is currently enrolled at SCSU pursuing her MLIS. Prior to that she taught first grade in Durango, Colorado. She also taught kindergarten in Naugatuck and worked in schools in New Haven.
Teen Volunteers Receive President’s Volunteer Service Award
Teen volunteers, Avanti Prabakaran, Grace Molina, Candice Northrup and Kaylyn Shoy received The President’s Volunteer Service Award from this past year.
Molina, Northrup and Shoy received the Gold Award and Prabakaran received the Bronze. In 2003, the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation founded the President’s Volunteer Service Award to recognize the important role of volunteers in America’s strength and national identity. This award honors individuals whose service positively impacts communities in every corner of the nation and inspires those around them to take action also.
