Pine Plains: Free Library has new leadership From assistant to director, Alexis Tackett takes charge

PINE PLAINS — Just seven months after she first joined the Pine Plains Free Library as a library assistant, Alexis Tackett, 23, happily accepted the position of library director last month, replacing Veronica Stork. Stork had served the library as director for the past five years.

Glancing at her resume, Tackett’s love of books and the printed world shine through her past experiences. For three years, she worked at a Barnes & Noble, first as a bookseller and then as a “kids’ lead,” where she was in charge of organizing storytime twice a week and other events for young readers. 

She was later offered a position as an aide for the San Antonio Public Library where she worked for two years while finishing her Bachelor’s degree in English and creative writing at the University of Texas in San Antonio, Texas. 

Tackett completed her Bachelor’s degree last May and is now pursuing her Master’s degree in library and information science.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Tackett’s work hours were reduced, yet it was right around that time that she decided to advance her career. After hearing there was a position opening for a library assistant at the Pine Plains Free Library, Tackett applied and was hired.

Together with her partner Paul Kennedy, Tackett moved from Texas to New York last fall. She officially started her new job on Thursday, Oct. 8. In fact, Tackett said she remembers her start date clearly as she and Kennedy had to drive two days from Texas to New York to get her car to New York. The couple now reside in the City of Hudson.

At the time she started at the Pine Plains library, Tackett said she found out Stork was preparing for maternity leave, and the two of them rushed to make sure Tackett was trained for her new role before Stork’s due date. Nevertheless, Tackett said Stork was great getting her on board and while she wished they had more time together, she enjoyed working with Stork.

“The Pine Plains Free Library, to me, is the epicenter of the community,” Tackett said. “I think the biggest thing I love about the library is how everyone knows each other, how close everyone is. Everybody is friendly, there’s this feeling of camaraderie with everybody, and when I first got here, I felt there was a bit of a trial period with people getting to know you, but pretty quickly, I learned to love the people that come in and out of here and it’s such a great environment.”

Stork went on maternity leave on Nov. 10, and though she was scheduled to come back to the library in March, Tackett said Stork let the library know that she decided not to return as she wanted to dedicate time to her new baby and felt the library was in good hands.

Tackett said Stork had texted her about her decision and asked Tackett if she was interested in becoming director. When she said she was interested, Stork responded by saying she would write her a letter of recommendation, an act Tackett believes played a major part in her getting the job. Just the same, Tackett was surprised when Beth McLiverty, president of the library’s Board of Trustees, offered her the position.

“She made a joke at the next [board] meeting that she’d never seen me speechless,” Tackett recalled.

On Friday, April 2, the Pine Plains Free Library officially welcomed Tackett as its new director.

Reflecting on what she’d like to accomplish, Tackett said her biggest priority right now is bringing more young patrons into the library. Aiming to get local children involved with its programming, she recently posted a position for a youth services coordinator. 

She also mentioned that the town of Pine Plains has agreed to update the library’s entire internet service and that it’s looking to completely change its network to improve its WiFi technology.

“It’s kind of coming in with rose-colored glasses a little bit because you see so much you want to accomplish,” Tackett said, “but I think ultimately what I want is to do is bring the library back as a community center.”