After eight years as the director of the Cranbury Public Library, Howard Zogott has announced his plans to retire by Jan. 1, 2008.
By: Lacey Korevec
Howard Zogott is getting ready to start a new chapter in his life.
After eight years as the director of the Cranbury Public Library, Mr. Zogott has announced his plans to retire by Jan. 1, 2008.
"I will be 62 and things are going very well here," he said Monday. "It’s time to move on to the next phase of my life. I had told the board earlier I wanted to give plenty of notice but there are things I wish to do in the next phase of my life."
Since Mr. Zogott became director in 1999, the library has seen a 48 percent increase in usage, according to a library press release. There has also been a 44 percent increase in the circulation of books, videos, audios, CDs and periodicals since 1999, as well as a 127 percent increase in the number of programs offered, according to the release.
"I am very pleased with the number of programs and the attendance of programs in my tenure here," Mr. Zogott said, adding that he wants to continue adding more. "Not only are there more programs, but more people come to them, which is really exciting."
Mr. Zogott said that when he was hired, he was asked to "invigorate" the library and make it an exciting place for community members to come.
He said he hopes he’s been successful.
"The library just wasn’t getting used a lot," he said. "Among my charges were to get people back into the library and make it an exciting place, to reach out to new residents in the town. We had a diverse population and I was charged with getting everybody into the library and using it."
Mr. Zogott said he’s confident that the library board of trustees will be able to find an excellent person to fill his shoes.
"Choosing a library director is one of the most important responsibilities that a board has," he said. "And I know they will take that quite seriously."
But in the meantime, Mr. Zogott said he still has nine months as the library’s director and there are a number of goals he would like to accomplish before he retires.
Among them, he hopes to expand online services by setting up an online book discussion group. The library is also working to add The Encyclopedia Britannica to its database.
"In our youth services, we’re going to create something I’m really excited about," he said. "It will be a leveled reading area. In other words, if your child is going to be reading at a certain level, we’ll have books at that level. We’ll have books at the next level."
He said the section will help parents increase their children’s reading skills by challenging them to move on to the next level.
Mr. Zogott said working at the library has been a wonderful experience for him and he will particularly miss the team of colleagues he’s gotten to work with.
"What I particularly enjoyed during my time here is the staff," he said. "They are so wonderful and so creative and take such an initiative. They are the best colleagues I have ever worked with in my 36 years of public library directing."
When his contract is up and his retirement takes affect in January, Mr. Zogott said he has plans to relax with his wife, Tina, and take up some of the hobbies that he hasn’t had time for in recent years.
"I’m looking forward to writing again," he said. "I write poetry and I’m looking forward to do that much more than I have gotten the opportunity to while working at the library. Eventually, my wife and I will retire to Tucson (Ariz.,). We will go to Tuscon, where it’s nice and warm."
But even after he leaves, Mr. Zogott said, he will continue to have high hopes for the Cranbury Public Library, especially at a time where public libraries in neighboring townships, like Plainsboro and Monroe, are expanding, he said.
"I sure hope that someday, sometime soon, Cranbury will expand," he said. "Bluntly, we’re outgrowing our space. I just hope that someday that will happen and the library will have its own facility and space to do its job."
He said having a public library that doubles as a school library is not ideal because it’s difficult to balance the needs of all the different age groups being served.
"Your constituents are different," he said, adding that adults look to the library for leisure, while students use the library for research. "The school library serves only the school population and they serve them in a different way. They are training them to use the library for research."
Library board President Frank Brennan said board members are grateful that Mr. Zogott gave them the news early, leaving the board plenty of time to find a replacement.
Mr. Brennan said the board hopes to choose a new director a month or two before January, so that there can be some overlap before Mr. Zogott leaves.
"He and the staff have been quite instrumental in bringing us into the 21st century," Mr. Brennan said. "They provided initiatives in many areas not the least of which is technology and during the past few years, we’ve seen noteworthy increases in all of the library services that are offered there. We’ve come up with new programs for senior citizens, for students, children and all of that is taking place despite very limited physical facilities in the library."

