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Directors and Staff
Robin Yuran
Co-director: ryuran@biblio.org
Robin Yuran grew up in Norfolk, where she attended Center School. She graduated from Northwestern Regional # 7. Robin has spent time as an artist, poet, columnist, coppersmith, jeweler, garden designer and nightclub singer. She began volunteering at the Norfolk Library in 1995 and worked her way up to her current position of Co-Director. She holds a B.A. with a concentration in literature from Charter Oak State College where she graduated with honors for outstanding achievement. Robin pursued her M.L.S. at Southern Connecticut State University and also has an M.F.A. from Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont.
Robin lives with her husband Kerry, daughter Castle and three cats, Jade, Lily and Silver in a nut brown cottage at the northern edge of town. Her hobbies include but are not limited to writing, reading, cooking, gardening, painting and baking bread. She has published her poetry in a number of newspapers and magazines including The Shy Librarian, Library Journal, Verbatim Language Quarterly and Carousel Magazine. Her first collection of poetry, The Shelf Life of a Mouse and Other Tales was published in 2003. Robin's research on Mark Twain in Norfolk was featured in the Spring 2007 issue of the Mark Twain Journal. She received a grant from the Artists and Writers Educational Development Foundation in order to publish her second volume of verse in 2009. Tales Told by an Idiot was nominated for a Connecticut Book Award in June 2010. Robin teaches poetry workshops for children in local schools and appears frequently at colleges and writers' retreats as a guest speaker.
As Co-Director with Rich Dann, Robin focuses on library services, community outreach and excellent diverse programming.
Rich Dann
Co-director: rdann@biblio.org
Rich started his third career at the Library in 2004 as a Circulation Assistant. Prior careers included teaching and information technology.
Eileen Fitzgibbons
Children's Librarian: efitzgibbons@biblio.org
Eileen, fondly known as "Miss Eileen" to the children of Norfolk, has been the Children's Librarian since 1988. Through the years Eileen has been telling stories to little ones in her weekly storytimes, sharing her love of books by creating the 'Pageturners' a book discussion group for middle readers, and scheduling a series of monthly educational and culturally enriching after-school programs for families. In addition, Eileen designs a creative playful reading incentive program to encourage visits to the Library and summer reading. Eileen is also the chairperson of the Special Events Committee for the Library, which oversees the booking of a concert series, lectures, documentaries and book signings.
Eileen was raised in Manhasset, Long Island, New York in an Irish-Catholic family and survived 12 years of parochial school. She went on to graduate from University of Dayton, in Ohio where she majored in Education and Health. After working in Tennessee for a few years, she arrived in Norfolk in 1980, deciding to make this town her home. In 1990, Eileen became a licensed massage therapist and now has a private practice in town. In 2006, she graduated from the Institute of Intergrative Nutrition and received a certificate from Columbia University for Nutritional Counseling.
Eileen's favourite evening is sitting in her yard by firelight, dining with her three sons, daughter-in-law, soon to be daughter in law, two grand daughters and friends. She loves to cook, bake healthy sweets, hike through the woods and read in bed.
Mary Ann Anderson
Technical Assistant: manderson@biblio.org
MaryAnn grew up in New Britain, CT and graduated from high school and college there. Her first job was Assistant to the Business Manager at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain, where she handled personnel and payroll matters. From there, she and her husband Bruce moved to New Haven where Bruce pursued his graduate studies at Yale Divinity School and where MaryAnn worked at Southern Connecticut State University in the Placement Office.
Staying at home with their four sons became her focus for the next twelve years until she began her part-time work at the Norfolk Library. Now, almost 37 years and eight grandchildren later, MaryAnn is still at the library, having performed most of the different responsibilities a library generates. Her current position as Technical Assistant keeps her busy "adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing" the book collection. Reading, knitting, collecting cookbooks and walking are a few of her favorite pastimes.
Christopher Keyes
Circulation Assistant
Educated at Ohio University and the University of Connecticut, Christopher Keyes cooked professionally for about a decade too long before deciding on a career shift toward his true love, books. A longtime Litchfield County resident, he loves history, the great outdoors, truffle oil, Reggiano parmegiana, the books of Kazuo Ishiguro and Michael Chabon and is a film fanatic. He lives alone.
Matt Papanek
Circulation Assistant: matt.papanek@gmail.com
Matt Papanek has been working at the Norfolk Library since the spring of 2004. Starting out as an intern at the age of 16, Matt is now a Circulation Assistant. A life long resident of Norfolk, Matt has also had the opportunity to experience the world outside of our little town, traveling to Ireland, driving across the U.S.A, and traveling with his grandmother by cruise ship. Matt attended Botelle Elementary School in Norfolk, and then homeschooled throughout his middle and high school years. He received his Associates Degree in Liberal Arts at Northwestern Connecticut Community College. Matt's interests include: piano, singing, acting, and travel.
Nicole Thornton
Intern: nicole.thornton@huskymail.uconn.edu
Nicole Thornton is a 22 year old UConn Student from Barkhamsted, Connecticut. After graduating with a Bachelor's degree in English, she hopes to get her Master's in Library Science. When she's not studying or hanging out with her friends, she likes to read, write and play music on her guitar (with a modestly missing string) and sing karaoke badly. But she insists there isn't any other way.
Lior Trestman
Intern
Lior Trestman is fourteen years old. He was born in New York City and has lived in Norfolk for the last nine and a half years. He attended Botelle School and is now a freshman at Regional # 7. His interests include bicycling, fishing and woodworking.