Great Neck Library Director Denise Corcoran tendered her resignation to the Great Neck Library Board of Trustees on Jan. 23.
“We thank Ms. Corcoran for her service and all she has achieved while here. We also wish her the best in her future endeavors,” said the trustees in a statement. “The board will be working with Ms. Corcoran and the staff to ensure a smooth transition for the library and the Great Neck Community as we search for a new director.”
Corcoran seemed to have stabilized the library after much controversy regarding Main’s long closing, the discarding of thousands of valuable books and the renovation.
She was officially appointed director during the Jan. 16, 2018, trustees meeting and began her new position on Feb. 1.
Informed that Corcoran submitted a letter of resignation after completing just one year on the job, local activist Rebecca Rosenblatt Gilliar, who served on the Director Search Committee that selected Corcoran, said, “The library board, whose new members will be seated in a few days, should endeavor to promise Ms. Corcoran the support she needs to remain in her job to resurrect the library after years of mismanagement. The task is enormous.”
At press time, the new board was scheduled to be installed at the Reorganization Meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2019, when new trustees Liman Mimi Hu and Scott Sontag and reelected trustees Josie Pizer and Chelsea Sassouni would take their seats on the board. Francine Ferrante Krupski, William Gens and Siu Long “Alex” Au would also take their seats on the Nominating Committee.
Corcoran brought a strong background in community library services, as she had worn many hats in the various positions she’s held in the Queens Library system.
As the director of community library services since 2014, she managed and supervised performance and services for 20 community libraries, including two teen centers within the Queens Library system. Her responsibilities entailed allocating, overseeing and directing personnel resources, supervising budgets and expenditures, as well as promoting the library through interaction with elected officials, community groups and schools. While working on staff and in customer engagement, she was a leader in creating a successful professional development series and creating a new Onboarding program.
Corcoran had previously served as community library manager for the Cambria Heights Library, managing all operations including building, staff, budgets, collections and programs. During her career in library services, she also served as a young adult librarian at the Cambria Heights Library, where she worked on collection development, reference services, programs and community outreach.
She has a Master of Library Science from St. John’s University and is working on her Master of Business Administration at Stony Brook University. She holds a New York State Public Librarian’s Professional Certificate and has a Permanent New York State Teaching Certification in Secondary Education, English for grades 7 to 12. She won two Congressional Achievement Awards for Outstanding and Invaluable Service to the Community.
The library director has not responded to multiple requests for further information about her decision.
“I am shocked to learn the news like everybody else,” said one library patron. “One thing about Denise is that I never seem to stop hearing good things about her—even the day before I learned of her resignation, an employee in the library was telling me how great she is.”
