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04/18/2017 02:45 PMManaging the Guilford Free Library is a task in and of itself, but Library Director Sandy Ruoff is ready to add another title to her name. Just last week, State Senate President Martin Looney (D-11) named Ruoff to the State Library Board and Ruoff said she is ready to get to work.
The State Library Board works to maintain and improve Connecticut’s 169 public libraries. As a board, the group approves policies related to the running of the state library and it awards grants to libraries throughout the state. In addition, the board advises and approves state planning for service and programs for the state’s libraries as well as maintaining public records of all kinds, working with the legislative branch of the state government, and managing archives.
Taking on this new role doesn’t mean Ruoff will step away from the Guilford Free Library, which she has directed since 1987, but rather now she will wear two hats. Ruoff said she thinks her nearly 50 years in public libraries will be a great asset to the state board.
“I think as a recipient of the kinds of aid and help from the state library in my career I can now perhaps bring some of that when the board is discussion new initiatives,” she said. “ I will have an on-the-ground point of view. That is my biggest asset to the board.”
Ruoff said the state board meets every other month and won’t take her away from her current role very often. Ruoff said she thinks being on the state board is an asset to Guilford in the long term.
“It is not a conflict with working here, in fact it probably enhances programs and services that we are trying to promote in the town,” she said.
Ruoff’s appointment is effective immediately and Guilford legislators were pleased to hear of her appointment.
“Sandy Ruoff is one of the most passionate, dedicated, and hard-working members of our community,” said State Senator Ted Kennedy Jr. (D-12). “She has impacted and enriched the lives of thousands of local residents by her leadership of the Guilford Free Library...Our state’s planning efforts will benefit greatly from Sandy’s enthusiasm, know-how and leadership. We are all beaming with pride knowing that Sandy and Guilford are setting the pace of future library administration.”
State Representative Sean Scanlon (D-98) also shared his enthusiasm over Ruoff’s appointment.
“During Sandy’s tenure as director, our library has become one of the most renowned and state-of-the-art libraries in Connecticut,” he said in a statement. “Guilford is so fortunate to have had Sandy at the helm of our library for decades and I’m confident that she will bring her immense talents to the State Library Board to benefit all libraries in our state.”