Library director to retire

Lorraine Jackson leaving after 29 years

By: Paul Koepp
   Lorraine Jackson is retiring after 29 years as the director of the South Brunswick Public Library.
   "I’ve been here a long time," she said. "I’ve seen the library through two large expansion programs."
   Ms. Jackson plans to do some library consulting work abroad after she officially steps down on Sept. 1. She is traveling to Ghana and South Africa later this year and hopes to do library work in both of those countries, she said.
   The library’s board of trustees has formed a search committee to find a replacement, Ms. Jackson said.
   Township Councilman Chris Killmurray, who serves on the board, said Ms. Jackson’s experience in helping the library grow will serve her well as she pursues her ambitious retirement plans.
   He also complimented her for her work during the November 2005 expansion, which added 16,472 square feet to the library, including a larger children’s room and a new computer lab.
   "When we got the library expanded, that was a great accomplishment," Mr. Killmurray said. "The timing was ripe because we needed to respond to the growth in the township’s population, and the state had a program to cover a quarter of the cost."
   He said Ms. Jackson also helped the library respond to increasing diversity in the township.
   "Lorraine always worked very hard to improve our foreign language collection," he said.
   Another goal she achieved was keeping up with the latest technology to make sure the library’s computers were upgraded and available to patrons, he said.