The former librarian for the York School Department will start Dec. 1 as the South Berwick Public Library director if her selection is confirmed this week by the Town Council.
Melissa Robinson, of Dover, recommended for the position after an interview process that involved a committee of local citizens and town officials, will replace Lee Shaw, who has taken a job as library director in Wells.
Robinson is scheduled to be introduced to the Town Council at the Oct. 28 council meeting. She was one of 17 applications for the job, five of whom were interviewed earlier this month by the committee.
Robinson, who has 22 years of library experience, earned her master’s degree in library and information science from Southern Connecticut State University and her bachelor of arts in political science from Merrimack College.
She has been with the York School District since the fall of 2021, and worked for three years before that as librarian at the Peabody Institute Library in Peabody, Mass.
She is co-author of several publications, including ”Transforming Libraries, Building Communities: The Community Centered Library.”
The interview committee was comprised of Shaw, Assistant Town Manager Jennifer Janelle, the South Berwick Library adult services librarian Alyssa LaPierre, Suzanne Esposito of the Friends of the Library, and Perrin Chick from the Library Advisory Board.
“The committee recommended the top two candidates, and we conducted a second interview,” Janelle said. Besides Janelle, the second round of interviews was conducted by Town Manager Tim Pellerin, Heather Stanley in human resources, Shaw and Lapierre.
“It was unanimous with us who we felt we should offer the job to,” Janelle said, “and that was Melissa.”
