FITCHBURG — After over five decades at the Fitchburg Public Library longtime Director Sharon Bernard is retiring next month, a move she calls “bittersweet.”
“What I have enjoyed most is the people, both the staff and the public,” she said. “The staff with whom I work, and have worked, have always been interesting, curious and eager to help.”
Bernard’s last day is May 16. Board of trustees of the Fitchburg Public Library Chair Matthew Bruun said they have secured a new director, Deborah Hinkle, currently assistant director of the Framingham Public Library and the former director of the Uxbridge Free Public Library. Hinkle was appointed following a national search and will report for duty on May 2 so she can shadow Bernard during the transition time.
Bruun said he wishes Bernard “a long and happy retirement and will be forever grateful for her counsel and service.”
“Sharon has been an exemplary leader for the Fitchburg Public Library, guiding it through great challenges while never losing sight of its mission or the vital role it plays in the life of the community,” he said. “She has been a great advocate for the institution and its dedicated staff members and has also positioned us well for the next chapter, including the major building project that will let the library serve our community’s evolving needs. The support that project has already garnered from city leaders is a testament to Sharon’s hard work and commitment.”
Bernard was born in the city and moved to North Leominster when she was a year old. She grew up there and moved back to Fitchburg in 1979, where she currently lives. She started working at the library as a page in 1971 while a student at St. Bernard’s High School and then in 1975 left for a few years to work at First Safety Fund National Bank. She returned six years later as a substitute on the circulation desk before she was hired as a part-time library assistant.
“I worked at circulation and in catalog where I was the IT person for 30 plus years,” Bernard recalled. “I started working full-time in catalog and then decided I wanted to get my library science degree which meant finishing my undergrad.”
She earned an associate of business administration degree from Mount Wachusett Community College in 1989, so she transferred her credits to Fitchburg State University, then Fitchburg State College, and graduated in 1999 with a bachelor’s degree in English. Bernard then attended the Simmons’ College Graduate School of Library and Information Science and after completing two classes the first semester she “realized I needed to work part-time so I could finish my graduate degree sooner.”
Along with the regular semesters she took winter session and summer session classes to complete her studies in January 2001 and earned her Master of Library and Information Science degree in the spring.
At that point in time Bernard was as working part-time as a reference librarian at the Fitchburg Library and in 2003 became director at the Berlin Public Library, a part-time position.
“Three months later the technical services supervisor position at Fitchburg opened due to an early retirement,” Bernard said. “That was the job I had hoped to have in the future, which was now here, and also juggling two 25-hour jobs was not going to be sustainable. I applied and in November 2001 was hired full-time as the tech services supervisor.”
After budget cuts in 2008 she was once again back to part-time “but needed a full-time job to make ends meet.”
“I reluctantly left the library in August 2008 to work in a finance company in Worcester,” she said. “In September 2009 the Fitchburg Public Library was looking for an interim director. At the time this was a 25-hour position, but the salary was better than the full-time job I had, and I would be working in the field for which I was trained. I was hired in October and in April 2010 the board of trustees voted to make the position permanent. The rest, as they say, is history. Eleven and a half years later I am retiring.”
Board of trustees member and former Chair Jim Walsh has worked alongside Bernard since first being appointed to the board over a decade ago. He and his wife have been members of the Friends of the Fitchburg Public Library for many years, and he was president of the Friends for five years prior to serving as a trustee.
“Sharon was the right person at the right time to lead the Fitchburg Public Library,” Walsh said. “During her tenure she has dealt with a variety of major issues in a professional and productive way.”
He also recalled the 67% budget cut that happened before Bernard became director.
“Under her direction and with a dedicated staff, the library continued to provide services to the residents of Fitchburg,” Walsh said. “Over time Sharon was able to get the budget increased and the library was, once again, recertified, received state aid, (and) increased hours and staff.”
Walsh said that in addition, Bernard began the process with the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners to write, submit, and be approved for a building grant from it and that “in midst of these events and running a library, the pandemic hit.”
“Once again, under Sharon’s leadership and a dedicated and incredible staff, the Fitchburg Public Library continued to provide services to its users and keeping the library staff safe,” Walsh praised. “Sharon will be missed but her leadership and accomplishments will be remembered forever. Thank you, Sharon.”
Former educator Bill McSheehy, who is heavily involved in city happenings including serving on the Fitchburg Art Museum board of trustees and City Hall Building Committee, remembers Bernard as the city Fourth of July parade marshal a few years ago.
“Everybody loves Sharon, she is a sweetie,” McSheehy said. “That’s what people think of her.”
Bernard said she has enjoyed her long tenure of service at the library and the different facets presented in her various roles there.
“Libraries serve all people and are uniquely positioned to help people navigate through life,” she said. “Each patron brings their own stories and unique needs. It is rewarding to help them find a solution to whatever their question is.”
When it comes to her retirement plans, it doesn’t sound like Bernard will be resting on her laurels. She noted volunteering as a member of the library building committee, traveling, reading and spending more time with her grandchildren as her goals as well as working on stitching projects — counted cross-stitch, quilting, embroidery and other fabric arts.
“I may take piano lessons again, and learn to paint,” Bernard said. “I am excited and a bit apprehensive when I think about retiring. I have been here for most of the last 50 plus years so I anticipate that it will take some time to get used to not coming in every day. I will know I’m retired when I don’t have to make a decision about whether or not to open, or close, early because of a snowstorm. Luckily, I’ll have many months before that will happen.”