Southington Welcomes Another New Library Leader

SOUTHINGTON, CT — Less than a year after naming a new director of the Southington Public Library and Barnes Museum, the town named yet another one last month.

In December, the town named highly experienced Thomas Piezzo as the new director of both local institutions, doing so a few months after they named his predecessor.

In March 2023, the Town of Southington named Matthew Earls to head up the library/museum in town, but his tenure only lasted until last October, according to Earls' LinkedIn page.

This prompted another search for a library leader, with Piezzo getting the nod.

Last week, Piezzo was formally introduced to the Southington Town Council at its Jan. 22 meeting.

Piezzo's prior job was as director of Haddam's Brainerd Library, with previous library services stints working in Madison and Guilford libraries, as well as jobs in New York City.

"He hit the ground running and he's done very well in his first few weeks," Southington Town Manager Mark Sciota said in introducing Piezzo to the council.

At the meeting, Piezzo said he is a leader with the Connecticut Library Consortium and is a past president of the Connecticut Library Association.

Piezzo arrives as Southington is in the middle of a total $17.24 million library construction project, whose journey to construction has come with a bit of controversy.

Local town and land-use officials had been critical of design plans during the design approval process, plans that — earlier this month — were tweaked to the satisfaction of local leaders.

Those tweaks, however, added to the project's cost, but not the taxpayer impact, as surplus contingency funding to the tune of $340,000 will mitigate those price hikes.

"I look forward to all we will accomplish in the new building as do our patrons," Piezzo said.

"But regardless of what our new library looks like, the core values of respect, professionalism, positivity, and dedication will guide our service to the community which deserves nothing less."

The circumstances of Earls' exit are unclear, but his LinkedIn account has him working as a "library consultant" currently, and states he left Southington in October after only taking the job a few months prior.

For the minutes of the Jan. 22 Southington Town Council meeting, click on this link.

From Jan. 3: 'Expansion Of Southington Library Project Approved'

From March 2, 2023: 'Southington Library/Barnes Museum Has A New Leader'