Darien Library's Louise Berry Featured in Library Journal

Library Journal just published an article on soon-to-be-retired Darien Library Director Louise Berry which notes just how special and influential she made this town's library among similar institutions.

“The most impressive part […] is actually not that Darien Library is internationally famous but how beloved it is in the community,” the article quotes former Darien librarian Gretchen Caserotti saying in the article. 

Like many who are hired at Darien Library, Caserotti later left to step up to a job with more responsibilities elsewhere, in her case to become director of the Meridian Library District in Idaho.

“The library really is a community center, a learning place, a place where people go to see and be seen—and also check out books!”

________________________________________________________

Get Darien Patch delivered daily to your inbox. Visit the Home page and sign up for the free newsletter today! If you don't have an account or you're not logged in, you can click on "Get the Newsletter" at the bottom of the Home page. If you're logged in, go to "Email Settings" at the bottom of the Home page.

________________________________________________________


Berry is retiring after 35 years leading the library, a time in which the institution has grown enormously in Darien and now occupies a much bigger building. She recently was interviewed at a library board meeting (a tape of which, online, is attached to this Darien Patch article or can be viewed here, on Vimeo).

The publication, a professional publication for Librarians which has Berry's husband, John Berry III as an editor-at-large, points out that she "hired strategically, tapping new graduates from New York City library schools and seeking innovators from across the country, and then created a talent incubator of sorts, an atmosphere where they could test their ideas."