Nanci Hill, the outgoing director of the Hopkinton Public Library, chose to resign from her position to focus on her family and travel after a 27-year career of working as a librarian and eventually as a library director, according to her email to the Independent Wednesday.

In her email, Hill stated her concern that her departure may be misconstrued or viewed by some to be acrimonious because of comments made during Tuesday’s Select Board meeting and last week’s Board of Library Trustees meeting about her departure and the library being understaffed while it seeks a new director and assistant director.

“This makes it sound as if I was having tension with the Board, which is absolutely inaccurate,” she stated. “I have never had anything but a great relationship with the Board.

“Also, in [Wednesday’s Independent story], it quoted me as saying that my departure was ‘the best thing for everybody,'” she continued. “This makes it sound as if I’ve had problems with many people, which, again, is not true. What I actually said was, ‘I have to do what’s best for me.’ ”

The quote Hill referenced was what was said  by Board of Library Trustees chair Warren Carter at the board’s meeting last Thursday regarding a conversation the two had about his wanting Hill to stay.

In a Sept. 9 statement to the Independent, she explained she no longer wanted to work full-time. Instead, she wants to focus on traveling and spending time with her partner and grandchildren. She also plans to return to library consulting work, which she shared that she previously enjoyed.

Hill gives statement

Hill’s statement is included below:

“The Board of Library Trustees recently completed the legislative process to assume responsibility for the library director; a move that I was in favor of as I had some differences of opinion on important matters with town hall personnel.  My partner is retiring and we are now in a position where I don’t need to work full time.  We now have three grandchildren, two of whom live relatively far from us.  This decision will allow me to spend much more time with them.  We also own a 27[-foot] camper and will now be able to travel more.

“I plan to consult for libraries on strategic planning, management and leadership, customer service, readers’ advisory and other topics.  I have done extensive consulting previously and look forward to returning to it. I may take a part-time library job at some point, though I have no current plans to do so.

“Former Assistant Jak Miller (who left on September 4th) and I achieved a great deal over my nearly six years at the Hopkinton Public Library. We:

• Recarpeted the entire library;
• Opened the new CreatorSpace and tiled it;
• Held our first One Book/One Community program;
• Planned and executed a year’s worth of programming for America’s semiquincentennial;
• Worked with the Hopkinton Public Library Foundation and the Friends of the Hopkinton Public Library to cover expenses for outside programming for children, teens & adults.  Added all ages programming;
• Started a highly successful seed library;
• Hired supervisors for each department and redid the management structure of the library;
• Met twice per month with the supervisors;
• Added four ½ day professional development opportunities for staff.  Training included communication, emergency responses, NARCAN training, mental health training, American Sign Language, readers’ advisory, and more!;
• Sent all staff to the MLA Conference held in Framingham;
• Sent several staff members to MLA Conferences held on the Cape;
• Sent Assistant Director to NELA Conferences;
• Had the Youth Services Supervisor and Children’s Librarian liaise with Hopkinton Youth and Family Services, rotating attendance at their monthly meetings;
• Had the Circulation & Technical Services Supervisor join in on CWMARS meetings of those committees;
• Had the Reference Supervisor attend both the CWMARS Reference Services committee meetings as well as MLA’s Intellectual Freedom Committee meetings;
• Joined membership as an institution in MLA;
• Joined membership in an institution in the Central Massachusetts Library Advocates;
• Held the library’s first Legislative Breakfasts;
• We were nominated for the National Medal in Library Services;
• Received an LSTA grant from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners in the amount of $25,000 to make the library more accessible to those with different abilities;
• Worked with a donor to install a granite bench at the Church Street entrance;
• Saw the installation of a ramp to the Main Street entrance;
• Saw the replacement and refinishing of the Ellsworth Room floor;
• Did a diversity audit of the entire collection and then ordered to fill in where we were lacking;
• Put together a monthly e-newsletter;
• Increased circulation;
• Increased programming;
• Wrote a Library Employee Handbook, ran it by legal counsel and then had it printed for all staff members;
• Instituted monthly all-staff meetings;
• Added Sunday hours;
• Added an adult as well as a children’s Library of Things;
• Worked with Stirling Brandworks to design an updated logo for the library and a complete overhaul of the library’s website;
• Co-sponsored programs with the Hopkinton Women’s Club;
• Co-sponsored annual Books in Bloom program with the Hopkinton Garden Club;
• Worked with the Senior Center to add Memory Kits to the library’s collection;
• Reached out to Parks & Recreation to co-sponsor programs;
• Added hearing devices to the Strong Room for those with difficulty hearing;
• Saved the town literally thousands of dollars by utilizing Hopkinton’s Buy Nothing group on Facebook and CWMARS Freebies lists to add shelving, tables, file cabinets and more;
• Added an all-terrain wheelchair to our circulation offerings;
• And much more!

“I have been a librarian for 27 years, serving as a library director for 17 of those years. I received the Massachusetts Library Support Staff Advocate of the Year award from the Massachusetts Library Association in 2017 and was inducted into the Massachusetts Library Association Hall of Fame in 2018. I am the author of ‘Reading Women: a Book Club Guide for Women’s Fiction’ (Libraries Unlimited, 2012) and have been a regular contributor to articles in Library Journal (for whom I also review) and the library database NoveList. I co-authored the Perspectives column in Public Libraries for many years. I also wrote the Christian Fiction column for Library Journal for several years.

“It has been my great honor working with the Board of Library Trustees, the town’s Senior Leaders, and the amazing staff at the Hopkinton Public Library.”