Capping off a long, emotional afternoon of joyful memories, tearful goodbyes and hearty laughter, 34-year Nevins Memorial Library Director Krista McLeod – wearing a gold tiara and matching sash – lifted her eyes to the historic Great Hall’s stage.
On a large screen, the countdown to the beginning of her next chapter – RETIREMENT – was a mere 10 seconds away. The remaining farewell party-goers shouted out each number. McLeod joined in, raising her arms skyward, swinging them left and right as each second passed.
“Five! Four! Three! Two! One! …”
When the screen showed “0,” she gleefully exclaimed, “I’M FREEEEEEEEE! FREEDOM! FREEDOM!” followed by that deep, joyful laugh that so many people know and love her for.
McLeod’s retirement is certainly well-deserved, as guests and speakers testified. She modernized the library (both in structure and programming) and expanded technology and literacy services; she guided staff through the COVID pandemic, Y2K, an interior flood and an expansion that forced Nevins’ contents and staff to temporarily relocate to Branch Street; she’s overseen budgets and book groups and conversations about book bans. And she’s made the lovely, landmark Nevins – from its extensive collection and its something-for-everyone activities to its welcoming, resourceful staff – a glowing example of what a top-shelf library should be.
“I was just chasing the quintessential introvert’s dream of working at a library … and look what you did!” joked emcee and incoming Director Sarah Sullivan, who has worked at the private, non-profit library 14 years – the last three as McLeod’s hand-picked assistant librarian. “I’m glad you set such a high bar. The patrons deserve it.”
“I adore her,” Sullivan told MethuenLife. “She has been an amazing mentor, coach, friend and leader.”
Mayor DJ Beauregard, who admits he’s notorious for keeping library books long beyond their due date, credited McLeod with “dismantling barriers to service by increasing library hours, abolishing library fines for overdue materials (for the love of God, thank you!), adopting new technology throughout the library, strengthening partnerships between the library and community organizations, and increasing the overall range of materials available for patron use …”
He also noted she is a “fierce advocate for intellectual freedom in the library,” which was followed by applause.
State Rep. Ryan Hamilton, who is also part of the Methuen Literacy Partnership, told McLeod, “You have given your all to this library. You have given your all to this city and it’s time for us to say thank you and time for you to rest. … You have been the moral backbone of this city for so long. … I look forward to fighting for all things ‘literacy’ with you as we move forward.”
“You have the heart of a servant and you have served your people so well,” said the Rev. Eleanor Prior of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, where McLeod serves as senior warden. She shared “some hopes” for McLeod and the library: “For Nevins, my hope is that this library will now know a new season of light. That this library will continue into realms unknown and will do so with the foundation built by a true servant, a servant who leads with light and love and knowledge. … And Krista, my hope for you is first some rest and relaxation. You have worked so hard and I have seen that. … And I am so proud of you, so proud to know you … I bless you and all that you have been and are and will be, and all those you have touched.”
“Krista, you’ve done an amazing job here,” said board of Trustees Chair Ralph Prolman, who has been involved at Nevins since the 1970s. “This place was so backwards and such a dump! … It looks a lot different now. … Enjoy retirement – have fun!”
Guests were treated to a staff-created video, interspersed with history, nostalgia, song and humor.
“When Nevins Library first opened, if offered patrons in the community the ability to peruse and borrow 7,500 volumes,” reference librarian Sue Juknavorian stated matter-of-factly. “Today that number is a staggering collection of books, movies, CDs and other items equaling over 170,000 items – each and every item, hand-picked by Krista McLeod!”
McLeod’s daughter Madeleine McKeon, who has heard for years, “I just LOVE your mom!,” also appeared in the video.
“Being with my mom is like being with a million-watt light bulb a lot of the time. She’s smart, and she’s funny, and she’s loud. … Her best quality is a rare one: It’s her ability to hold people in their full humanity and to be fully human herself.”
She noted that her mother continually works hard to do the right thing, knowing that it’s not easy: “Her most impressive moments are not public, and she wouldn’t want them to be. … I have witnessed profound moments of hidden grace … My mamma has taught me a lot herself, which can boil down to this: If you want to DO good and you want to BE good, that is going to require a hell of a lot of work. And if you have to work, you might as well have fun with the people you work with!”
Sullivan took a moment to thank McLeod’s husband, Matt McKeon, for his unwavering support of Krista and the demands of her job – the late nights, the event snack runs and his own “volunteering” at countless library events.
When she reached the podium, McLeod was taken aback by the volume of friendly faces in the packed hall. She gathered herself and spoke.
“Certainly, one of the most fortunate things that has happened to me is finding this community, this library, this family of people that I cherish and appreciate more than I can express today,” McLeod said. “All of you – staff, trustees, my Methuen friends, my St. Andrew’s friends and my colleagues in the greater library community – thank you so much for enriching my life and certainly letting me leave with so much love.”
She shared this poem by novelist Stephen King:
“We did not ask for this room,
or this music;
we were invited in.
Therefore,
because the dark surrounds us,
let us turn our faces to the light.
Let us endure hardship
to be grateful for plenty.
We have been given pain
to be astounded by joy.
We have been given life
to deny death.
We did not ask for this room
or this music.
But because we are here,
let us dance.”
McLeod ended with, “Thank you all very much for being my friends!”
McLeod gently touches her husband Matt McKeon’s face as he is also honored by incoming leader Sarah Sullivan for being by Krista’s side through her years – and long hours – as library director.
Nevins Library’s new director, Sarah Sullivan, laughs amid her emotional speech to her mentor McLeod. Looking on are fellow speakers Mayor David “DJ” Beauregard and the Rev. Eleanor Prior, McLeod’s priest and friend. McLeod serves as senior warden at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church.
Congratulating McLeod are (back, from left) Nevins Library Trustee Tina Touma Conway; former Trustee, former Tenney Supervising Principal and current School Committee member and Methuen Literacy Partnership leader Mary Beth Donovan Grassi; and MAN Inc., founder Linda Soucy whose family-focused nonprofit has had a long, impactful relationship with the library.
Forty-year Nevins Library staff member Beverly Winn (left) was there when Krista McLeod was interviewed for the director job 34 years ago. Winn says they immediately connected and have become dear friends.
