After 32 years in Mt. Lebanon, library director retiring
Cynthia Richey has been director of Mt. Lebanon Public Library since 1996.
Cynthia Richey has been director of Mt. Lebanon Public Library since 1996.
A conversation with Mt. Lebanon Public Library’s director will make this statement of hers obvious:
“I have a real passion for the profession.”
For Cynthia Richey, that might be an understatement. There’s the sheer longevity of her 52 years working in libraries. And beyond that is a commitment, a true belief, in what she does that shines through as she discusses the institution to which she’s been so devoted.
“The library has been called the people’s university. It’s true,” she said. “The library is the big, mass educator, and everyone can take advantage of the resources the library has.”
Her time in the profession, at least on a full-time basis, wraps up Oct. 10, her last day on the job before retirement.
“I will miss this place very much,” Richey said. “I feel as if I’ve grown up with libraries, and in particular Mt. Lebanon. It’s been a large part of my life and helped form my core.”
The “grown up with libraries” is applicable: Her first job was as a page at her hometown Beavercreek Branch of the Greene County Public Library. That’s the Ohio version of Greene County, not far from Dayton.
Pages tended to do a lot – even at age 13, as she was at the time – from shelving books to conducting programs.
“As a high school student, it was a great introduction as to the depth of what a librarian could do,” she said.
After making her way east, Richey worked at Pleasant Hills Public Library and the Squirrel Hill Branch of Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, earning her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Pittsburgh along the way.
In 1983, Richey came to Mt. Lebanon to head the children’s department. Thirteen years later, she was named director.
At the time, the library’s current building was under construction, and the temporary quarters was in a renovated gas station at Washington and Bower Hill roads, now the site of a long-vacant lot. The library offices were in an aged duplex, which staff members affectionately referring to as “the Bates Motel.”
They, and residents of Mt. Lebanon in general, truly are affectionate about the gem of a facility that opened in 1997 on Castle Shannon Boulevard.
“It has been a privilege to serve a community that cares so deeply about the library and the services we provide,” Richey said. “The support we got from the community then helped us transition to this new building, and that has continued to this day.”
In addition to her Mt. Lebanon duties, Richey has served a larger cause by serving stints as president of the Pennsylvania Library Association and of the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association.
“Not only has that informed my work here, but it’s also a way for me to share my passion and ideas, and work with like-minded others to make all of society better through public libraries,” she said.
She now faces the question of what she’s going to do after so many years at libraries.
“People are asking. That’s for sure,” Richey said, noting that her husband, Jerry, has reached the same point in his life. “We wanted to retire around the same age so we can do things together while we’re healthy. We want to pursue the hobbies we have not had time to pursue.”
They also want to travel to visit members of their “far-flung” family, including grandchild Reed, 22 months.
In the meantime, Richey plans to continue touting the virtues of libraries, and she’s not the only one. She referenced, for example, the passion of Keith Richards, who, when he’s not playing guitar for the Rolling Stones, tends to his extensive book collection and loves to lend his materials. As he has said:
“When you are growing up, there are two institutional places that affect you most powerfully: the church, which belongs to God, and the public library, which belongs to you.”