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Kent Library Welcomes New Director and Trustees
This New Year ushered in with it not only a new director for the Kent Public Library but two new members to the library's Board of Trustees.
Francis (Frank) J. Rees, the former Assistant Director and Head of Adult Services at Howland Public Library in Beacon, began his tenure as Library Director on January 7. Rees and newly selected trustees Kevin Del Campo and Florence Ratti were officially welcomed during a monthly Board of Trustees meeting.
Rees, a 1981 graduate of SUNY Plattsburgh, received his Masters of Library Science from SUNY Albany in 1991. A resident of Hudson, NY, Rees served as Director of the Hudson Area Association Library from 1994 to 2004.
Under his leadership, the HAAL enjoyed greatly increased program attendance, library visits and circulation. Rees also established and maintained a grant-funded Teen Substance Abuse/Health Information Center as well as a Career Information Center.
While serving at the Howland Public Library, Rees instituted computer classes for seniors, developed the library's collection of Spanish language materials, initiated a monthly film series, sponsored community blood drives, organized displays by local artists and ran a weekly trivia contest. In 2007 Rees was selected as the winner of the Outstanding Public Service Award for the Reference and Adult Services Section of the New York Library Association and was appointed to its Board as the Publications Chair.
Trustee Del Campo received his Master of Science/Education in Guidance and Counseling from Iona College in 1972. He taught Business Education at Port Chester High School until 1986 before joining their Guidance Department as a counselor. He retired as the Guidance Department Chairperson in June 2007. Trustee Ratti, a 40-year resident of the Town of Kent, is retired from her position as Administrative Assistant/Confidential Secretary to the Commission of Corrections in Westchester County. She has served as President of the Board of the Lake Carmel Fire Department Young Colonials. Today Ratti volunteers through St. James the Apostle Church as a minister to the homebound. Ratti is the Sunshine Person for the Kent Senior Citizens and coaches Senior Net at the Kent Library.
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