Proud and Honored: Prendergast Library Executive Director to Retire in February

Anne Green announced that she will retire from her position as executive director of the James Prendergast Library on February 25, 2025.

Early next year, a familiar face will be leaving the James Prendergast Library.

Annie Green, the library’s executive director, will resign from her position on February 2, 2025, ending an 18-year career with the city library.

“I’ll be spending a lot of time with my grandchildren and playing golf with my husband,” Greene said. “I’ll also be traveling a lot — I’m a homebody. … So realistically, I won’t be traveling as much.”

Green said she is very proud of her work at JPLA and the hard work she and her staff have put in over the years to make the library a resource for the community.

“I am proud and honored to have served as the executive director of the James Prendergast Library Association for the past five years. As executive director, I have worked closely with senior leadership and the Board of Trustees on many projects. Our leadership team has accomplished so much over the past five years, and I believe that hard work has helped the library thrive. I can’t wait to see what will be accomplished in the library’s next chapter,” she said. “I will miss everyone at the library, the patrons and the Board of Trustees, and especially the entire staff who work so hard to serve our community.”

Green began her career in 2007 working at the library’s information desk and then moved into management as library center coordinator.

“I’ve worked in a variety of positions since 2007,” she said. “From family manager, public services manager, library manager and now executive director, those are just a few of the positions I’ve held here.”

In 2020, she said, she held a referendum on library funding that allowed her to receive $350,000 in annual funding from taxpayers.

“As director, I was responsible for developing a grant management plan. We worked on a plan that prioritized facility and program needs. Using the plan, I leveraged $1,314,287 in grants for materials, programs and construction projects over the past five years,” Green said.

Additionally, Green believes that effective and efficient teamwork is critical to the library and helps meet the needs of library users and the community.

“During my tenure, I have dedicated much of my time to strengthening teamwork and improving the workplace culture. I have worked closely with all employees to assess their needs and develop a plan that will benefit them and improve library services. We have identified new training opportunities, improved our HR onboarding process and created an employee recognition program,” she said. “Of everything I have done over the past five years, this is the most important; the library would not be where it is today without the dedication and passion of our incredible staff.”

Green, who earned a bachelor’s degree in social work from the State University of New York (SUNY) Fredonia State, a master’s degree in social work from the University at Buffalo and a master’s degree in library science from Texas Woman’s University, is a Jamestown native who has been a library user herself since she was a child.

“I was born and raised in Jamestown and have been coming to this library since I was a little kid,” she said. “I will truly miss all the people here, both the staff and the library users.”

Jenn Champ, manager of special projects and facilities at the Prendergast Library, said she learned a lot from Green during Champ’s five years at the library.

“Anne specializes in change management and organizational leadership. She began her career as a social worker and has several years of experience working with individuals, families and groups,” Champ said. “It has been a pleasure working with Anne for the past five years. I have learned so much from her, especially about leadership, and she has inspired me to grow in my career.”