Library director reaching out to community

by Susan Mikula Campbell
Lewiston Porter Sentinel, September 30, 2006

Ronald W. Shaw

The man perusing the new books at the Lewiston Public Library jumped when the booming voice behind him ordered, “Step away from the books.”

He turned and exchanged grins with the bearded man with the bald head who had issued the command, then demanded to know if, now that there was a man instead of just women ordering books in Lewiston, he could count on a better selection for male readers.

Ronald W. Shaw is getting to know his public.

As the new director of the library and the only male on the staff in recent memory, Shaw plans to be accessible to library patrons, collecting their ideas for what they want the library to offer. He also plans to reach out to community members who don’t currently use the library to both show them what is available and to find out what services would bring them in to take advantage of the facility. A library, to him, is not only a place to come for information, but also a place where community organizations can meet, a place where people can come and associate with others, and a place where interaction between people of different ages and skills can be encouraged.

“I try to break out of the mold of the librarian who goes around saying ‘Shhh,’ ” he said. “I tell my staff it should be a fun place, not the morgue libraries used to be where you couldn’t talk.”

Areas for Possible Expansion

People already have asked him to increase library hours (it’s now open only 40 hours a week; he’d like to add at least nine more) and expand databases (for example, providing ancestry and heritage searches). He’d like to see the computers upgraded and a wireless network installed. Teen-agers, he believes, are an underserved population, and he’d like to start more programs that would not only help them with homework, but also offer other services. He’d like to see Niagara University education students come in and use the library’s children’s room.

Shaw realizes that most of this costs money and that he’s inherited budget constraints and past battles over library funding between the village and town. The library does need better funding, he said. He hopes to be able to demonstrate to the community how valuable the library is and can be, and by doing so, foster an increase in public funding. He also sees the need to search out other means of raising revenue.

“I want the library to become a focal point for people in the community of all ages,” said Shaw, who started work Sept. 5. “I have so many ideas. That’s the problem. It’s actually sitting back and figuring out what’s doable right now.”

Shaw’s approval rating is high with patrons and staff.

“He is an affable, personable, gentle man,” said Peggy Salada, president of the Friends of the Lewiston Public Library. “Since his arrival at the library, he is visible to all – he chats with patrons, visits the children’s room, works the circulation desk – he is all over. He has attended both the Trustees and the Friends meetings.”

Life Before Lewiston

Shaw, 48, comes to Lewiston after eight years at the North Tonawanda Public Library, where he left as reference librarian. He had planned to work on his patio at home the day he first visited the Lewiston Library, but it rained, so he and his wife, Frances, drove out to take a look and fell in love with what they saw.

“I always wanted to retire to a library like this. I never thought I’d be a director this soon,” he said.

Robert M. Presutti, president of the library’s Board of Trustees and director of the New York State Association of Library Boards, said Shaw’s organizational skills wowed the three trustees and two library staff members who made up the selection committee, and his 28 years in the military (reserves) didn’t hurt either.

“He ranked right up there with ones (directors) I’ve seen statewide,” Presutti said. “I think he’s going to be an absolute positive attribute to this library.”

A native of Tonawanda, Shaw graduated from Cardinal O’Hara High School and holds a bachelor’s degree in urban regional analysis planning from Buff State. He worked at various jobs before going back to earn a master’s of library science from the University at Buffalo. He lives in Amherst and has three children: Jaclyn, a junior at Cornell; Eric, a freshman at Niagara University; and Jessica, a junior at Mount St. Mary’s Academy.

Shaw even did a seven-year stint as Mr. Mom before joining the North Tonawanda Library staff; his youngest daughter was sick and his wife had the insurance.

At NT, he left a hole that still hasn’t been filled and will always be regarded as family, according to Peggy Waite, library director. It wasn’t just that he handled all the library’s computer problems or his military demeanor, but his sense of fun. Part of NT Library folklore is how “Ron music” (rock) would make your car shake if you parked next to him in the morning, or the time he swiped a Summer Reading Club water pistol prize and in retaliation for another trick, “shot” a fellow librarian under the table at a staff meeting.

After Dan Killian left NT as director, Shaw was the only man, aside from the custodians, on the staff.

“We had to teach him how to work with a bunch of women,” Waite said with a laugh. “They (Lewiston) can consider us as having been a training ground for him.”

Shaw says he’s too busy for hobbies, but he has been a soccer referee (including games at Fort Niagara) and Scoutmaster and enjoys kayaking and, of course, reading. Most of his recent reading has been ancient and classical history, studying for a master’s degree in history, or for the military, preparing for promotion to lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserves. He now plans to retire from the military to devote his time to his new position.

Shaw admits he has bias for the books in the 900s (history) and 355s (military), but patrons not fond of those areas needn’t worry. He plans to involve the entire staff in future purchasing decisions.

Friends would describe him as “quiet,” he said. “I think they would say I was somebody you could count on to do what needs to be done.”