GREENFIELD — When Anna Bognolo moved to the area from overseas in 2006, the Greenfield Public Library was one of the first places she went to with her children.

“I remembered from my youth how important the public library was,” said Bognolo, who took over as library director this week from retiring director Ellen Boyer. “I lived in a small town in New Hampshire and everything happened at the library. I remembered how important that was for me.”

Sally Ahearn, who was leading the children’s story time, helped introduce Bognolo to community members.

“We’re still the closest of friends and our children are close friends,” she said. “Sally really was the person who welcomed me to this community and showed me how important the library was for families.”

Bognolo holds a bachelor’s degree, three master’s degrees and a post-graduate diploma from the University of Rochester, the University of Toronto, the Courtauld Institute of Art in London, the Scuola Vaticana di Biblioteconomia in Rome and Simmons University in Boston.

Bognolo has worked as a substitute librarian at the Jones Library in Amherst and the Greenfield Public Library, as well as in a part-time capacity at the Boyden Library of Deerfield Academy. Prior to that, she worked for nearly a decade at Springfield Technical Community College as the reference outreach and technical services librarian. In that role, she developed a sound knowledge of the Central and Western Massachusetts Automated Resource Sharing (CW MARS) consortium’s inner workings and the services it provides to member libraries.

Most recently, she served as library and archive director at Eaglebrook School in Deerfield, where she oversaw the day-to-day operation of the library, provided instructional support to students and teachers, and led the expansion of the school’s archive. She moved from Deerfield to Greenfield in 2020.

In addition, she volunteers with the Franklin County Community Meals Program and the Great Falls Books Through Bars program.

“I love working with people,” Bognolo said. “Something that is really important for me is community work. … Libraries are such a great avenue for doing that kind of work. It’s in me as a person, but this profession allows me to be able to do it 24/7, not just in my own time.”

Bognolo said while she really enjoyed working with the students and faculty of Eaglebrook, she missed working with the wider community.

“I really feel like I needed to widen my scope and my vision, and right now in our country, which is so politically divided, we need good strong people who are going to support organizations that are there for everyone,” Bognolo explained. “I felt that that was my calling.”

As she acquaints herself with the new role as Greenfield Public Library director — and the new building on Main Street — Bognolo hopes to partner with local nonprofits.

“I see a lot of opportunity with music and art and the creativity of our young people in town, and also our adults,” she said. “There’s so much in this community that nobody knows about or hasn’t seen.”

Reporter Mary Byrne can be reached at mbyrne@recorder.com or 413-930-4429. Twitter: @MaryEByrne.

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