New Simsbury Public Library Director: 'It's the Community's Living Room'

For Simsbury Public Library’s new director Lisa Karim the facility is both a place to reconnect with others and one “without walls,” where patrons can increasingly access its services remotely.

It may seem a bit of a contradiction but for Karim, the library offers something for everyone. It's a place where education starts and perhaps the only one that has something for residents of all ages, whether they are reading books, interacting with neighbors and staff members or taking a conversational French class by the upper level fireplace.

“It’s the community’s living room,” Karim said. “The library is still a place you can go and find that personal interaction.”  

At the same time, one of Karim’s goals is to improve the library’s web site and give users a better experience tapping into the databases, e-books, and soon e-zines and more. 

“That expands the user base of the library as well,” she said. 

But while Karim may have that and a few other hopes for the library, such as a teen librarian, she came to town extremely impressed with the facility.

She started in town July 15 after working more than 15 years at LaGrange Library in Poughkeepsie, NY. She replaced Sue Bullock, who retired after being in Simsbury since 1996. 

Karim said she was "looking for new challenges." 

She looked at several communities but found Simsbury special. 

“This is a community that realizes the library is the cornerstone of the community,” she said.

Karim said she also loves the area's beauty and thinks it will also be a great place for her three daughters - Hannah, 10, Libby, 7 and Emelia, 6.

Karim grew up in the Poughkeepsie area and has undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of New York, Albany.

Karim had planned to go to law school and even upon studying library science wanted to go into archives and research and interned at the FDR presidential library.

When she couldn’t find a job as an archivist, she accepted a position as director of LaGrange. After a year, she left to accept a job with the Rockefeller Archive Center. Before too long, however, she realized she’d rather be a director and accepted her old job back. 

“I realized at that point I was a people person,” she said.

In 1995, she went back to LaGrange, only leaving to come to Simsbury.

Here, she said she appreciates the dedication and helpfulness of the staff and realizes there will be a balance to provide great library services and remain fiscally responsible.

She said she would like to find ways to make volunteers more effective and can especially use some for shelving — returning materials to their rightful place. With a circulation of more than 440,000 last year, it’s a constant need. Applications are available at the reference desk. 

Despite a self-professed “type A” personality, Karim said she also enjoys artistic pursuits, such as repurposing old furniture, crochet and drawing.

And yes, she loves to read. A history buff, Karim loves authors such as Doris Kearns Goodwin but more than any particular genre, titles that explore people and how they relate to each other.