A Rose is a rose at the Pike County Library

With apologies to Gertrude Stein who coined the phrase, “A rose is a rose is a rose,” meaning things are what they are, this is an apropos description of Rose Chiocchi, the executive director of the Pike County Library. With Chiocchi, what you see is what you get.

Chiocchi was appointed to be the executive director (including the main Milford library and the Dingmans branch) by the Library Board in January 2015. There was quite a bit of acrimony about how, where, and what the Milford library should be, but Chiocchi came after most of that was over, and she is a calming force.

She holds a BA from Temple University in communications and an MS in library science from Drexel University. She lived in New York, worked in various library jobs, traveled the world, including a stint teaching ESL in Thailand. Being a Shohola native, she finally decided to come “home” in 2014, to interview with the Library Board, and was appointed shortly thereafter.

“People think I sit around and read all day,” she quipped. “Actually, it’s more like running a small non-profit.” Chiocchi is in charge of a staff of 15, including part- and full-timers. She is very proud of the staff she built, and maintains that without them, there would be nothing. The library runs like a well-oiled machine. Chiocchi also works with the State Library Association and ran the state conference one year.

The atmosphere in the library is interesting. It is very quiet and yet you see people of all ages at work, whether doing their jobs or as patrons reading and researching. It’s a very open, warm, and welcoming place. Everyone uses the library, but the base is family with young children and older adults.

There is a cornucopia of programs, with something for everyone — videos, audio books, graphic novels, and two e-book platforms. There are also mahjong groups, artist lectures and series, all available on their website. Through a grant from Greater Pike, the library can provide passes free of charge to various museums, both local and a bit farther away. The library also works with struggling readers, and those on the spectrum. Most popular are the computer terminals with free internet access.

The library’s mission is to grow and connect with the community by providing exceptional programs, services, and resources to enrich the lives of all Pike County residents. Their vision is to establish and maintain an information center to meet the ongoing educational, cultural, and recreational needs of the county in the 21st century.

There is an inter- and intra-library loan delivery system where people can borrow books from Lackawanna, Susquehanna, Wayne, and Wyoming counties. And if they can’t find something there, Chiocchi says they will get it for you. She works closely with Maria Bello, the manager of the Dingman Township branch. The library serves 55,000 people, with 35% coming from the Dingman branch.

That is almost back to pre-COVID levels.

Asked what she was most proud of, Chiocchi said it was the newly completed Children’s Room, a huge space on the lower level next to the Community Room which is used for community events.

The Children’s Room took 10 years to build and a minimum of $250,000. There is a plaque in this room in memory of Gayle Schuster, who championed this concept with enormous energy.

The Children’s Room is a huge open space, with a stage and little corners to encourage developing children’s creativity. There are two study spaces and a full-time children’s librarian, Stacey Krauss, who’s been a children’s librarian for more than 22 years. Krauss and Chiocchi exude excitement as they develop new and creative programs for this space, which is basically for younger children — from babies to those around 12 — and then there is another area for teens and pre-teens, plus story times for various ages.

Chiocchi wishes that everyone would get a library card and see all the many things available at the library on their website. Her quiet determination and foresight promise to grow it exponentially.