After 16 years, South Shore native and former Brookhaven Free Library director Jamie Papandrea has begun a new chapter of her career as director at West Islip Public Library.

Papandrea grew up in Brookhaven hamlet. After graduating from Bellport High School, she attended St. John’s University, where she received her bachelor’s degree in history with a minor in English. From there, she pursued her master’s degree in library science.

She spoke about how becoming a librarian wasn’t her initial plan. After working in the restaurant industry for many years, Papandrea assumed that hospitality would be her career path. However, after stumbling upon a flyer from St. John’s showcasing their master’s program, she reflected on her time as a page at the Brookhaven Free Library and decided to sign up for the program.

Papandrea worked at Brookhaven Free Library from 2008 up until August of this year. She started her career as a children’s librarian and eventually moved up the ranks to library director in 2013.

Although she has changed libraries, her favorite part of the job has remained the same: working with people. Throughout the years, Papandrea has had countless interactions with members of the community, and no two interactions are the same.

“I enjoy hearing their stories, learning about the community, and being able to help people in small and big ways. I do feel like I’m helping and making a difference, whether it’s working with patrons or staff,” she said.

Helping others regardless of their economic status or other outside factors is what Papandrea finds most rewarding. She shared that, ultimately, the overriding theme of the public library is about everyone being treated with the same level of service and given the same opportunity. Papandrea finds even the smallest of interactions to be meaningful.

Since taking on her new role five months ago, Papandrea has been focused on learning from her staff, some of whom have been at West Islip Public Library for 20 or 30 years. She is also taking time to get to know the community and build relationships with both. Ultimately, her goal as library director is to maintain the West Islip Public Library as a trusted source for the community and continuously adapt to fulfill the needs of the people it serves.