Prospect library director uses all her skills to benefit patrons
PROSPECT — Bridget Sereday, the new director of the Prospect Community Library, is applying the training and skills she used as an attorney to help the library and its patrons.
After working for four years as an attorney for Lutz and Pawk Attorneys at Law — now called Lutz, Pawk and Black Attorneys at Law — and for Common Pleas Court Judge Marilyn Horan before Horan's appointment as a federal judge, and spending the next five years raising her son, Dean, Sereday said she jumped at the opportunity to lead the library after former director Jill Hambley retired.
“I was quite excited about the position opening up,” Sereday said.The Slippery Rock resident said she has always enjoyed libraries and has taken her son to the Prospect Community Library at 357 Main St. for the children's programming.“I have been taking my son to the library since he was an infant. I always enjoyed libraries, but this one is special,” she said.A year ago, she served as president of the Prospect Community Library Bookends, a group that supports the library by holding fundraisers and volunteering.She said her career shift from the courtroom to the library is a permanent one.“It is a permanent carer change and a happy one, one I was happy to make. I enjoyed law, but I feel my skills are better utilized in this setting,” Sereday said.The education she received and the skills she learned as a lawyer have prepared her to manage the library and interact with municipalities and patrons, she said.“Hopefully, I'll be able to put those skills to use for the library and its patrons. I think the director of a library, especially a small library, has to wear a lot of different hats,” Sereday said.The library's board of directors had three well-qualified candidates from about six applicants for the job, and selected Sereday because she was the best fit.“Bridget just seemed like a perfect fit for the library and the Prospect community,” said Dru Bryan, board president. “She just seems like she has an interest and she's very bubbly.”Sereday said she enjoys interacting with children and seeing them get excited about reading and the other activities the library offers.Sereday said Hambley, the former director, did a “phenomenal” job of providing remote resources and creating a virtual summer program for adults and children while the library was closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.“Patrons really appreciated it. People were having a difficult time not doing the things they used to do. All the work they put into that programming, virtual and remote, was really appreciated here,” Sereday said.She said she worked with assistant director Shari Hunt to reopen the library and have programming outdoors at the beginning of September.
ABC story time for children up to age 5 is at 11 a.m. every Wednesday, and STEAM story time, which includes science experiments, for children ages 3 to 6 is at 1 p.m. every Friday.The Teen Advisory Board meets at 6 p.m. the second Friday of each month, and the teen movie night begins at 6 p.m. the fourth Friday.For adults, the book club meets the second Monday at 6:30 p.m., and the cookbook club meets the third Thursday at 6:30 p.m.The outdoor programming is ending soon because of the onset of colder weather.Members of the PCL Bookends and Teen Advisory Board recently assisted with a book sale. Local businesses donated tents, tables and pizza for the sale.“We receive outstanding support from the community,” Sereday said.The library's service area includes Prospect, Portersville as well as Muddy Creek and Franklin townships. Residents of Slippery Rock and Connoquenessing Township also visit the library, she said, adding the library serves about 700 patrons.
Bryan is a member of the long-standing Prospect Community Woman's Club whose members founded the library in 1922. She said her mother was a club member and her grandmother was a member of a group that preceded the club.“The Prospect Community Woman's Club basically started the library. They owned the property, and we built the building,” Bryan said.A majority of board member are members of the woman's club. Those early members took turns hosting the library in their homes before the facility was built, she said.In addition to club members' homes, the library was housed in storefronts and community centers for more than 50 years until the library was built in 1971. An addition was built in 1990.
