Delmont Public Library Director Denni Grassel, who will retire at the end of the year, is excited about the technology experience her successor is bringing to the job.
“My joke is that Monica knows that TikTok is more than the noise that the clock makes,” Grassel said with a laugh.
Monica Smodic, 41, will become the Delmont library’s new director, bringing a lifetime of loving books with her.
“I’m excited to get to know the community better,” Smodic said. “This library is pretty much the nexus of the community. It’s so welcoming and inviting, and it’s a great place for people to gather, learn, socialize and more. It’s much more than than what you typically think of about a library.”
Smodic has a master’s degree in library science from the University of Pittsburgh, turned her undergraduate history degree into a job as director for the Bradford House Museum in Washington County, worked at the neighboring library in Murrysville and owned a used bookstore for several years.
“I realized that I wanted to be doing all of the things I was doing at the bookstore, but without having to pay all the bills personally,” Smodic said. “That was when I went to Pitt to get my (master’s degree).”
Smodic grew up in Holtwood, Lancaster County — “It was the middle of nowhere. It took us a half-hour to get to a library,” she said — and can recall her mother reading to her from a very young age. She encourages all parents to read to their children.
“When you get that reading at home, you associate a warm, fuzzy feeling with it because you’re doing something with a loved one,” she said. “And so, when you get older and you’re in school, learning and books go hand in hand. They’re not this new thing you have to get used to.”
Smodic said she wants to continue expanding the resources and programs the library offers.
“She’s going to bring that fresh set of eyes to the library,” Grassel said. “She heard about our backpacks program, and right away she said, ‘We can do a backpack on grief, we can do a backpack on happiness, on sadness, on anger.’ ”
Smodic said she wants the library to be able to respond with resources for parents in a post-covid world that many children may still be struggling to understand.
“People lost loved ones. People lost jobs,” Smodic said. “And as a community we’re trying to figure out how to navigate the aftermath of that. Our services are free, so whatever we can get to help people, whether it’s books on depression and grief, working with other groups in the area to create mental health and mindfulness resources, that’s what we’re hoping to find grants for and expand on in the future.”
Grassel said Smodic has shown a passion for continuing the library’s high profile in Delmont.
“From Day One, she’s come in with a heart toward serving the community, which is what we’re all about,” Grassel said. “It’s going to be a seamless transition.”
