Pittston Memorial Library Director Jessica Lane, left, and library employee Jacqueline DeLucca look over files on the library’s computer.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Jessica (Linskey) Lane’s heritage runs deep with the Pittston Memorial Library, where her late grandfather, Bob Linskey, was a founding member and a longtime trustee on the board at the library.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Jessica Lane took over the helm as Library Director at Pittston Memorial Library on Sept. 13.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
PITTSTON – For Jessica (Linskey) Lane, her new position as Library Director at the Pittston Memorial Library has come full circle. Her grandfather, the late Bob Linskey, was a founding member and a lifelong trustee at the city library, where a plaque hangs in his honor today.
Lane, a former educator and mother of three children, took time off from teaching to focus on raising her three daughters, Hailey, 5, Ava, 3, and Ryann, 18 months, with husband Jason.
After the birth of her last child, Lane was poised to roll up her sleeves and get back to work. The library director’s position at the Pittston Memorial Library opened up, so she applied, interviewed and was hired to start the job on Sept. 13.
Lane has a degree in English Literature, a secondary certificate in English Literature, a Masters in Curriculum Instruction and a certificate to teach English as a Second Language. She taught school at Holy Redeemer School for five years before stepping down to raise her children.
With her strong education background, Lane is excited about injecting more educational programs at the library.
“The library has a good opportunity to serve the populations of children and adults that otherwise go by the wayside,” Lane said. “Our children that are struggling, as well as overachieving that need an extra push, and our children’s coordinator, Katie Grooms, and I are excited about getting teens in here that are looking for some outlet and we would like to get programming up and running in the new year.”
Lane said she would work closely with the board of trustees at the library, as well as Howard Grossman, the fundraising coordinator, in initiating new and exciting ways to raise money for the daily operations of the library.
“My goal, when I first was hired, was I want people to see the library as more than books,” Lane added. “It is a place that we have in this community, and how lucky we are to have such a structure, to have such an opportunity bring people in and keep them here and keep them involved.”
Lane knows all too well that unlike other libraries, the Pittston Memorial Library has The Slope Amphitheater that can seat up to 300 people on the property as well as the John P. Cosgrove Center to utilize and attract people to the library.
“The goal for me is for people to get people in the door to see it’s a community center, not just a library,” Lane said. “The Cosgrove Center is very under utilized and not living up to its potential, so there are a lot of opportunities there.”
Lane said she’s happy to be a part of an institution like the Pittston Memorial Library, knowing her grandfather Bob was such an integral part of beginning of the library’s existence in 1951.
“I can’t walk into this library knowing my grandfather’s plaque hangs on the wall and not give my all to see that this library succeeds,” Lane said. “I’m open for suggestions, I’m open for criticism, good bad or ugly, and at the end of the day I want this library to succeed.”
