Newmarket Public Library welcomes new director

NEWMARKET -- The Newmarket Public Library Board of Trustees is pleased to announce the appointment of Candace Cousins as its new director.

Cousins, a Dover resident, joined the staff on March 15. Prior to joining the staff of NPL, she served as director of the Weeks Public Library (Greenland) for two years and Philbrick-James Library (Deerfield) for three years.

“The trustees were impressed with Candace’s strong public library experience, energy and creativity. Her commitment to strong children’s services aligned with the library’s goals,” said Board of Trustees chair Mary Mahoney. “ We look forward to working with Candace as our outstanding library continues to grow.”

“We’re very excited to see where Candace’s leadership takes us,” said Board of Trustees vice chair Amy Nicholson. “Her experience, enthusiasm and energy should serve the Newmarket Public Library, its staff, and patrons well.”

Cousins said the most rewarding aspect of being a library director is that every day is different.

“It’s such a wide variety of people I get to serve,” Cousins said. “I get to offer something to every and any member of the community; it’s such a unique position. I almost went into teaching, but one of the things that changed my mind was I couldn’t decide what age group I wanted to teach, which felt limiting.”

As director, Cousins will oversee day to day operations of the library, working with the six staff members as well as assisting patrons with their needs.

The challenge for Cousins is setting limits on herself.

“It’s hard because I want to do so much, but with limited resources, sometimes I have to wait,” Cousins explained. “We have to work with the staff we have and what our budget is. There’s so much you want to do, but you have to prioritize.”

With the needs of patrons changing so frequently, being flexible is crucial.

“You need flexibility and a sense of humor, a willingness to be open to new things, to keep evolving. You have to see what other libraries are doing; it’s great that the libraries are so collaborative. Professional development is huge, you really have to take the time to do it, otherwise you’re not up to date for your patrons,” Cousins said.

Some of the upcoming events at the library include two Dungeons and Dragons groups (one for teens, one for younger children), a craft supply swap, a program hosted by the Center for Wildlife on July 20, and Night Out on Elm Street for adults on July 13.

So far she’s really enjoying her experience working in town.

“I find that Newmarket is such a welcoming, friendly, open community,” she explained. “People are open to collaboration, new ideas, new experiences, lots of different people. I haven’t worked in a community like that before. It’s a community that’s proud of where it’s come from and also where it’s going. It’s so exciting to be a part of that. People here seem so invested in the town.”

Cousins holds a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature from Plymouth State University, a Master’s degree in Teaching Writing from Plymouth State University, and a Master’s degree in Library Science from Drexel University in Philadelphia.

For information on current programming at Newmarket Public Library, check out https://newmarketlibrary.org/index.html.