Edison Public Library Celebrates Retirement Of 3 Longtime Employees

EDISON, NJ —Three longtime employees of the Edison Public Library recently retired from service. The three employees have strong ties to the community and have a combined, dedicated over eight decades of service to the Township.

Library staff gathered the week of April 22 to celebrate Douglas Alvarez and Enrico ‘Rick’ LaBella, who both retired last month, and Shelley Peters, who will officially retire at the end of May.

“It has been such a pleasure working with them and we wish them the best of luck in their retirements,” Debra Sarr, assistant director of the Edison Public Library, said in a statement.

An employee for 33 years, Alvarez, a current Township resident, was hired in 1990, and, at the time of his retirement, served as a senior library assistant. Peters, another Township resident joined the staff in 1993. He served as a library assistant for 31 years. Labella, a former Edison resident who currently lives in Milltown, joined the staff in 2005 as a library assistant and served in that role for 19 years.

Combined, the three retirees have dedicated 83 years of service to the Edison Public Library, each one working in the circulation department and serving the needs of patrons at all three branches. Additionally, both Alvarez and LaBella also served as Bookmobile staff, with Alvarez having worked on three of the Edison Public Library’s Bookmobiles, including the original one, over the course of his tenure.

“For many years, Douglas, Rick, and Shelley have been familiar faces at the Edison Public Library. We appreciate their dedication, eagerness to help, and commitment to the library and its patrons,” Sarr said. “They will all be missed.”

The Edison Public Library is celebrating its 95th anniversary. For more information, www.edisonpubliclibrary.org or contact your local Library Branch.