The Peru Gazette

By John T Ryan

Peru, NY –  A person familiar to hundreds of Peru and area residents will soon depart from the institution she’s led for the past 21 1/2 years. Becky Pace,  Director of the Peru Free Library, is retiring effective September 25, 2024. Becky considered retiring last spring, but she delayed for a few months. She commented, “I wanted to leave the library when it’s as good as I can take it. We needed to build back after the pandemic, and we did it. We’ve had a lot of new families join. More people are coming in now than there’s ever been.”

The Library’s Board of Directors posted a statement online that read in part, “Under Becky’s leadership, solar panels were installed on the roof, professional theatre, storytellers and musicians performed for the children of Peru, art shows were curated that featured local artists; thousands of dollars were raised for the library through various fundraising events, and so much more.”

Becky is proud of those accomplishments but measures her success by how many people enter the library or order books online. During the course of our interview, she commented several times, “I’ve done things, yes, but it’s the people.”  Later, she stated, “Our library tagline is ‘It feels like home.’ The library is a haven. It’s comfortable. We provide space for people.”  We sat in comfortable Queen Anne chairs in the library’s spacious front room for this interview. Nearby, two patrons were viewing paintings that were part of an ongoing art show. They purchased one of the paintings; a portion of their payment will go to the library.

Fundraising is one of a library director’s many responsibilities, accounting for about one-third of the library’s income. Becky successfully applied for grants to fund art and theatrical shows and building upgrades.  A $52,000 grant funded the solar panels on the library’s roof. Some of her other duties include advocating for the library, developing new programs, working with the volunteers whom the library relies on, reading book reviews, ordering books that she believes will appeal to patrons, and interacting with anyone doing business with the library. Chores like cleaning the bathroom and caring for the garbage also fall in her purview. 

What has she liked most about her job? Becky responded, “You never know who will walk through the door. I’ve had some wonderful conversations with people.”  Becky is an empathetic listener, always striving to serve the patrons. As Becky said repeatedly, “It’s about the people.”

Stacey Bousquet, who has been assistant library director for the past eight years, will be the new library director. Becky recommended her for the position. That’s another reason for Becky’s retirement; she’s confident the library will be in good hands.

Becky Pace doesn’t plan to leave Peru. A graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Art, she said, “I will be doing dedicated art studio time.” Patrons will undoubtedly hope that Becky’s artwork will be featured in an art show at the Peru Free Library.