Eileen Dyer, the interim Director at the Rogers Free Library following last month’s departure of Dawn Jenkin, brings years of leadership experience to the job.

“I’ve been a long-term librarian in Rhode Island,” said Dyer, who began her career in South Kingstown before transitioning to the Providence Community Library (now the Community Libraries of Providence, a nine-branch system that separated from Providence Public Library about two decades ago). She then served as director of the Swansea Free Public Library for about five years.

“I achieved my professional goals there, the quintessential one being getting the funding passed for the library expansion project,” she said. “Once that went through I decided to try to come back to Rhode Island.”

In the past, Dyer has also served as President of the Rhode Island Library Association, as well as co-chair of the Association's legislative action committee. She is still currently engaged with the Massachusetts Library Association, and is one of the chairs of their library legislative committee.

“I’m very active in library legislation on the local and national level,” she said.

Dyer has been on the job for about a month, and with the search for the permanent director well underway, she envisions a clearly defined mandate. “Obviously this library has been through a lot of changes over the past couple of years, so first of all it's to make sure that the staff feels supported, that they know that someone's supporting their endeavors.”

“The the team here is great,” she said. “We’ve got a lot of new people who have tons of energy as well as quite a bit of knowledge for being so youthful, and a lot of great ideas — and they pair really well with the more seasoned staff. It's a nice balance, and I'm trying to make sure that it all works and everyone feels an equal part of the team.”

Even though she’s new to the community and the Library, in just her short time here she has gotten the impression that the library in on a strong footing, despite the sense that there has been a revolving door at the top.

“I think it has largely just been a confluence of situational things that have happened all at once,” said Dyer. “It also happened during the great resignation, and a lot of people left libraries across Massachusetts in Rhode Island, so it is not unusual for Bristol. I think the fact that there were so many retirements also opened up other jobs that were available that might have met their [past directors’] situational personal needs better.”

Al Wrobleski, Chairman of the Library’s Board of Trustees, hopes the next director will be around for the long haul, but he admits there is no magic formula that will guarantee that. “You can use your best judgement and pick the person with the rights skills but it all comes down to how they fit — with the staff, the community, and the town,” he said. “It’s very subjective, but that’s the key. If the fit isn’t quite there, there’s nothing you can do, and it’s a lot of uncertainty until you get someone on board.”

That someone will be named near the end of the summer. Applications are in, and the search committee is in the process of scheduling finalists’ interviews.

There’s a busy slate of events coming up this summer that Dyer is looking forward to overseeing, including a collaboration with RWU and Linden Place that is bringing Pulitzer prizewinning author Geraldine Brooks to town. Also, the Bristol Garden Club is introducing more native plants to the library’s garden. “We’re trying to be leader in demonstrating sustainability,” said Dyer.

The summer reading program is kicking off after the Fourth of July, with a big opening event on the 6th. Chess tournaments, American Sign Language classes, and a Bristol writers group are all also in the works.

“We do important work and it's such a great community,” said Dyer, a Riverside resident who is enjoying getting to know Bristol. “I’ve met quite a few people just in the few weeks I've been here…It’s so nice to walk down the street and have different options of places to visit to eat or just to look at the water right down the block. I like to sail so I like to look at the boats on my walks.”

“My big thing is collaboration — among departments, between community organizations, and other businesses, and I think Bristol does a really good job of that, but I'd love to continue to expand those relationships,” she said. “I’m interim but I always have to think long-term anyway, because anything I do now will impact the next director.”