Suzanne Macaulay grew up loving to read and going to the library, so it’s no surprise she’s made a career of leading others there as well. As the program director for the OWWL Library System, she is in charge of promoting Take Your Child to the Library Day, an annual international day to celebrate libraries that is Feb. 3. Sunday Editor Louise Hoffman Broach conducted the interview by email and we are re-publishing here with permission from the Finger Lakes Times.

LHB: Where did you live when you were growing up? What was your childhood like?

SM: I grew up in Levittown on Long Island with my parents and two sisters. I think it was a pretty standard 1980s suburban childhood. We rode bikes everywhere; there was a town pool and an ice cream truck that came around twice a day in the summer. I went to Catholic school and wore a brown plaid jumper for many, many years.

LHB: Were you always a reader? What kinds of books most interested you as a child?

SM: I was! I was deeply devoted to “The Baby-Sitters Club” and “Sweet Valley High” series, but I read all the time, whatever I could get my hands on. We visited the library, but my mom would often take me to Waldenbooks (which is now an Old Navy) where I stocked up on tween paperbacks and later the “Calvin and Hobbes” books. I was flush with Pizza Hut BOOK IT! personal pan pizza coupons in elementary school!

LHB: Did you spend a lot of time in libraries?

SM: I did. One of my favorite childhood memories is walking to the Levittown Public Library with my fifth-grade class to see the author Zilpha Keatley Snyder. She autographed my copy of The Velvet Room, which I read dozens and dozens of times. That well-worn, well-loved copy is on a shelf in my office more than 35 years later. It was also very exciting when the bookmobile visited our school!

LHB: What did you do after high school? Did you always want a career promoting literature? What were some of the positions you had before your current one?

SM: I received my undergraduate degree in English from Molloy University and had planned on teaching high school English. However, when I was in graduate school, I was flipping through the course catalog (before online registration existed), and I randomly stopped at the listing of Library and Information Science classes and thought, Oh no, that’s what I’m going to do! This is it. I got my MSLIS from LIU Post.

I changed my major and never looked back. My first position was the Children’s Librarian at the Henry Waldinger Memorial Library in Valley Stream, on Long Island. Every day that I worked there was a true gift! In the 17 years since, I’ve held a variety of positions in the field, including the director of the Clifton Springs Library, before landing here at the OWWL Library System in March 2020.

LHB: I got the idea to interview you when you sent me a press release about Take your Child to the Library Day. On the first Saturday in February, thousands of libraries across the world celebrate Take Your Child to the Library Day by offering free, fun, fabulous activities for families. What’s planned some of the libraries here in the Finger Lakes?

SM: Launched in Connecticut in 2011, Take Your Child to the Library Day has grown to become an international celebration that encourages families to explore their local library. Of course we want children and families visit the library every day, but Feb. 3 provides a special occasion to explore the variety of learning opportunities, early literacy programs, and educational resources available.

Many libraries across Ontario, Wayne, Wyoming, and Livingston counties have fun events planned for Take Your Child to the Library Day this year, including ice cream for breakfast, drop-in crafts, scavenger hunts, and solar eclipse-themed storytimes to help families prepare for the total solar eclipse happening on April 8.

LHB: These days, libraries have become so much more than simply places to take out books. Tell me about some of the services that are offered and how you think that use of the library in communities, particularly small ones, continues to expand.

SM: The mission of the OWWL Library System is that everyone enjoys the freedom to read, learn, and grow through equitable access to library services. Programs such as coding, financial literacy, and creative writing held at libraries demonstrate this commitment to lifelong learning. Libraries are also creating spaces of support and belonging by offering assistive technology devices, tax prep help for seniors and older adults, and food and personal care item pantries.

But library services are also about meeting people where they are. For example, our Books by Mail program provides delivery of materials by U.S. mail to community members who are unable to access their local library due to disability, long-term or chronic illness, lack of transportation, or other difficulty.

LHB: With electronic everything these days, are there still enough people who want to read actual books?

SM: Even with the rise of digital assets, print books appear to be more popular than ever! In a report released by the American Library Association in November “survey data show that 54% of Gen Z and Millennials visited a physical library within the previous 12 months … The data also revealed younger Americans’ distinct preference for physical versions of books: survey respondents read and bought on average twice as many print books per month as any other category.”

Libraries’ ebook and print book collections are both increasing, which is exciting to see because people have more ways to consume information now — but the print book is still thriving!

LHB: Where do you see libraries headed in the next five years?

SM: I believe libraries will continue to adapt and change to meet the needs of their community members including the continued growth of reading materials, online resources, and in-person programs.

LHB: What kinds of books you like the most?

SM: I have a little bit of a commute each day, so I love to listen to nonfiction audio books on the Libby app. Learning about new people, places, and things while in the car seems like a great use of time! I just finished “60 Songs That Explain the ’90s” by Rob Harvilla and it was a fun — yet informative — trip down memory lane.