It seems as though Beth Paine, Richmond Memorial Library’s new director, slipped into her new role quietly more than a month ago, with little fanfare or public notice.
Paine replaces former director Bob Conrad, who led Batavia's library for nearly eight years and resigned in September to accept a position in Westchester County. The library’s Board of Trustees was excited to introduce Paine, Board President Gregg McAllister said in the recent newsletter.
“Beth has an extensive background in public and school library experience. She was most recently director of the public library in Sidney, near Binghamton. Her commitment to excellence and creative library programming will be an asset to our community,” McAllister said. “You may already have seen Beth walking her two dogs here in Batavia, where she plans to be an active resident. If you have not met Beth yet, please stop in and introduce yourself.”
One of her favorite sayings is from Albert Einstein: “The only thing that you absolutely have to know, is the location of the library,” and, as someone who has moved many times, it is more than a quote on a wall.
“This quote really has a special meaning for me. I have moved more than a few times, including moving from my hometown of Bloomfield, NY to Oswego for college, living in Rochester for two years after receiving my degree, on to Canandaigua, then Penn Yan, and then down to Sidney, NY in the Catskills region,” she said in a message from the director. “And with each new place where I have resided, one of the first things I would locate was the library. The library was always my happy place, the place where I knew I could relax and let my worries slip away. It was the place of amazing stories, knowledgeable people, and endless forms of entertainment.
“My first, and probably best, memory of the library was going with my mother to our small public library in Bloomfield. To walk into that sanctuary of books and records brought a calm to my young mind that I experienced nowhere else. I will forever be grateful to my mother for introducing me to that wonderful place,” she said. “And though it took me 43 years to realize that being a librarian was my true calling, I still get the same feeling of calm every time I walk into the building. And Richmond Library is my new happy place!”
Paine walked right into budget season, with the library vote set for May 4. She also took some time to sit down and chat with one of her employees, Lucine Kauffman, who has the Genesee Life program on WBTA and works at 19 Ross St., the Batavia library.
Favorite author? Jane Austen. First job? As a candy girl in a movie theater. Extracurriculars? Pets, volunteering at animal shelters. Your definition of a public library?
“Community Center. I mean, we do have kind of our hands in everything. We kind of, we’re trying to connect resources to people, you know, especially when it comes to a low-income area where people don't have Wi-Fi, people don't have their own computers, with our library visits,” she said. “I was really impressed with that when I came in for my budget.”
She has been adjusting to life in Batavia, with her two dogs and two cats, and is surprised that there are “a lot more restaurants and shops than I expected,” she said.
“And so my children think it's really funny when, before I actually started on the 22nd, I had moved in on the 19th of February. And one of my first days, I actually was driving around to find things. And I messaged my kids: I'm so excited, I'm eight minutes from Target. So I was very excited about that,” she said during the show.
She had last worked at a library in Sidney for four and a half years and wasn’t even looking for another job. “I loved my job,” she said, but a friend knew she wanted to move back to Rochester “to be near my family,” and the friend sent her the job posting for Richmond library.
And here she is.
“Though I did not actually experience the happenings at the Richmond Memorial Library in 2022, as I only arrived in late February, I did compile the 2022 Annual Report for NY State and have a good cache of knowledge regarding much of what occurred during the past year,” she said in the director’s message. “While the effects of the pandemic can still be seen in the fact that the library’s attendance still has not reached pre-COVID levels, there was an increase of about 30 percent in visitors to the library from 2021 to 2022. There was also a large increase in the number of items checked out, including all genres and formats. Programming has continued to show a huge uptick in attendance, 17 times what we had in 2021!”
She also noted that the Richmond Reads program had the highest attendance for adult programs, and Santa’s in-person visit in December was by far the best-attended Children’s program of 2022.
“Working diligently on the library budget with the Board of Trustees, we had many discussions regarding rising costs, not just for the library, but for our patrons, as well. With this in mind, the Board voted that the library would not raise the tax levy for the 2023-2024 fiscal year,” she said.
She and the trustees, per the library budget letter, opted to “hold steady at $1,381,469.” The board hired Paine for a yearly salary of $83,000 per board minutes.
“Though the pandemic still has some lingering negative effects on our library usage statistics, we are coming back strong, and I am so thrilled to be a part of this new chapter at the Richmond Library,” she said. “I have already come to love the library, and I am constantly impressed by the knowledgeable and motivated staff that I have the privilege to work with every day. And now that I’m caught up on learning the ins and outs of the library, you’ll see me out of my office more, so please feel free to stop me and say hi!”
Photo of Beth Paine from her online social media.
