Recalling a visionary Pottsville library leader

Yahoo

07-06-2025

POTTSVILLE — With an eye toward the future and the energy to obtain the funds for big projects, Nancy Smink left an indelible mark on the city of Pottsville and all of the patrons of the Pottsville Free Public Library, which opened its doors in 1911.
Introducing more computers for public use and spearheading the addition to the Pottsville Free Public Library are among the accomplishments of Smink, who retired as director of the library in 2016.
Smink, 77, died May 15 in Pottsville.
Born Feb. 10, 1948, in the city, Smink was a 1966 graduate of Pottsville Area High School. She graduated from Albright College in Reading and then earned her master's degree in library science from SUNY, according to her obituary.
Smink retired in 2016 after 40 years at the Pottsville Free Public Library, 215 W. Market St. She started as the district consultant in October 1976, and was promoted to director in May 1980.
'Nancy devoted her career to the Pottsville Library,' Jean Towle, director of library said Friday.
Jean Towle, director of the Pottsville Free Public Library, recalls retired director Nancy Smink, on Friday, June 6, 2025. Smink, who worked at the library for 40 years, died in May at age 77. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
Towle said Smink had a side she didn't show many people. She was an avid traveler, and a cat enthusiast.
'She loved Germany,' Towle said.
The former director also enjoyed going to the beach and attending Broadway shows, Towle said.
Thomas J. 'Tim' Pellish, the former city solicitor, was on the library board for about 10 years during her tenure.
'She was a good leader, a good librarian,' he said Friday.
The more than $1 million expansion of the library, completed in 1999, increased its square footage by about 22,000 square feet, nearly doubling its space.
The original library opened on Nov. 9, 1911, at 208 West Market St., site of a former saloon, according to the library.
In February 2013, Frances Lorenz, left, founder and president of Friends of the Pottsville Free Public Library, and library director Nancy Smink, test the WiFi that had just been installed in the library. FILE PHOTO
Three buildings nearby on West Market Street were demolished to make way for the 1999 library addition. A state grant and other funds were gathered to pay for it.
'We were running out of space,' Pellish recalled.
The Pottsville Library website tells of the pages in the library's history. For instance, its says this about the importance of the building many visit:
'In 1911, when the Library opened, Pottsville had a music academy, hatmakers, livery stables, a steamship agent, saddle shops and mine supply stores. The music academy burned down shortly afterward and the hatmakers, stables, steamship agent, mining stores, and saddle shops have long since disappeared, victims of technological advancements and changing lifestyles and tastes.
'But the Pottsville Library remains. Since 1911, it has not merely survived: it has grown from a one-room storehouse of books to a full-fledged, diversified cultural information center with services for people of all ages, incomes, interests and occupations.'
Towle said there are about 130,000 items in the library's collection including DVDs, audio CDs and other items.
When Smink retired, a post on the library's Facebook page thanked her for her leadership and remarked on the expansion of the library and technological innovations.
Becki White, reference librarian, has worked at the library for 30 years. When she started, library patrons had one computer to use and internet access was dial up.
Becki White, reference librarian, works behind the counter at the Pottsville Free Public Library, Friday, June 6, 2025. (Amy Marchiano/Staff Photo)
'Nancy did try to update the library as funds permitted,' White said.
Today, thanks to Smink's leadership and efforts, the library has about 15 computers for public access. Wifi was added in 2013.
White said Smink appreciated honesty in her employees.
'Being 'brutally honest' with her paid off,' she said about Smink's leadership style.
For instance, if employees needed a day off and told her why, Smink would do her best to accommodate them.
Smink loved the color purple, and was an excellent baker. At Christmas, she would bring in homemade cookies for employee to share.
She is survived by her siblings: Judy Workman of Melbourne Beach, FL; Sue Bendle-Yannacone and Dr. Michael Smink, both of Pottsville; and Jeffery Smink of Kure Beach, NC.