MAXINE BLEIWEIS, WESTPORT LIBRARY DIRECTOR

SPEAKER AT FEBRUARY 16 Y's MEN MEETING

Maxine Bleiweis, the Director of Westport Public Library will speak to the Y's Men of Westport/ Weston on Thursday, February 16. Her topic is "New Directions for Libraries."  The meeting begins at 10AM at the Saugatuck Congregational Church, 245 Post Road East

Maxine Bleiweis has been the Director of Westport Public Library since 1998. For over 30 years, Maxine has been known for her innovative approach to building and running libraries. From her 6 years as Library Director in Suffield, CT to her 18 years as Library Director in Newington, CT through her current position in Westport, Maxine has been lauded for her ability to predict trends and determine ways to meet the latest “customer” needs on an almost up-to-the-minute basis.

She brings what some would call a marketing orientation to the mission of running a library. Throughout her career, Maxine has used classic marketing principles as a hallmark of her efforts to keep libraries at the forefront of meeting community needs. One example was her early recognition of the importance of the public library addressing the needs of the business community.

  Her success in targeting and addressing specifically the needs of the business community has been borne out by the use the Westport Public Library experiences from the business community during the seven years since she arrived. She has shared much of her learning with other professionals over the years by writing a highly touted book entitled Helping Business: The Public Library's Role in Community Economic Development and many articles.

Maxime has two daughters and lives in the Black Rock section of Bridgeport.