Milton says goodbye to Fran
Library director to retire after 26 years

By COURTNEY LAMDIN | Staff Writer
courtney@miltonindependent.com

Family, friends, colleagues and community members gathered in Milton’s newly doubled-in-size library Friday, June 10 to celebrate library director Fran Ferro’s upcoming retirement after 26 years of service.

Visitors reminisced, snacked on treats prepared in the library’s new kitchen, wandered the stacks and signed well-wishes on a card table. Ferro’s last day is June 30.

“We love Fran, and we love our community, and this is a wonderful thing for our community,” said Anne Showalter, library patron, former trustee and longtime friend, who attended the event with her husband, Michael. “We’re here to support her.”

Showalter has known Ferro since the library was housed at the Clark Memorial Building on Main Street. Fran became library director in the mid-1980s – and soon realized the 868-square-foot space wasn’t going to cut it.

“It wasn’t a very welcoming place for kids,” Ferro said, adding that making children feel welcome in libraries was her priority. “It was tiny, and kids need a lot of room.”

Back then, the library only held a formal adult book discussion; Ferro soon added “Storytime,” a program for children that carries on today and sometimes draws up to 30 kids. Crafts and movie nights followed, and Ferro enlisted the kids’ help decorating the windows – but used the wrong paint.

“I couldn’t get it off!” she said, laughing.

The library got new digs – and 4,000 more square feet – when it moved to the current municipal building in 1995, and just two weeks ago, the town unveiled a newly expanded space with separate sections for adults, juveniles and children.

For Ferro, 26 years in the same place has meant watching those children grow up.

Today’s college students were yesterday’s Storytime guests, and for Ferro, even though they may not remember it, if they feel comfortable in libraries, “We did our job,” she said.

Leigh Guerin, who grew up with Ferro’s two sons, remembers Storytime and other kids’ fun at the library. She recalled that Ferro taught her to write with her left hand without smudging the pen ink, after being told to get her handedness corrected.

Hildy Guerin, Leigh’s mother, also attended the retirement celebration. She recalled Ferro as a book lover and said Ferro introduced her to new authors over the years.

“She’s a people person, and she wants to share her love of reading with other people,” Hildy Guerin said.

Karen Auth, former trustee and now Georgia resident, said Ferro always made sure the library had books for everyone and ordered them when it didn’t, like when Auth needed the last book in a trilogy.

“Next time I came in, it was here,” she said.

Auth and the Guerins agreed that more than anything, Ferro left her mark on the new library.

“Fran was a major moving part of this,” Auth said. “This is her accomplishment.”

Never one to like the limelight, Ferro thanked the taxpayers who approved the $1.6 million bond to construct the new space. She said their willingness to pass that ballot item – in a recession, no less – showed Milton values education.

“Nobody expected it,” Ferro said. “We didn’t either. To me, that was a great validation.”

Ferro also extended gratitude to the people who helped move books into temporary storage during construction, saying people “volunteer galore here.”

“I love this town, I really do,” she said. “It’s getting bigger, unfortunately, but it still has a small town feel to me.”

For Ferro, 26 years at the library is 26 years of relationships – the most important things in life and what she’ll miss most after retirement, she said.

“I’ll miss the people, “ Ferro said. “I won’t miss worrying about stuff. I won’t miss that. I just want to enjoy the library in a different way.”

Ferro will volunteer at the library – processing books and helping kids’ programs – and make time for her grandson and gardens.

Sitting in the library’s new office space – the director’s office empty – Ferro said there’s no better time to leave.

“Look at this place,” she said. “It’s a good time to go out on top.”