The Board of Trustees of Newtown’s C.H. Booth Library announces that Shawn R. Fields has been selected as the new library director, as of July 1. The search for a new director began last fall after longtime director Janet Woycik announced that she intended to retire June 30, 2013.

Mr Fields, a resident of  Oxford, received his bachelor's degree in business from the University of Connecticut, and a master’s of library science from Southern Connecticut State University in 2005. He has served as the director of the Huntington Branch library in Shelton since January 2008.

Prior to that, he was a librarian at Sacred Heart University’s Ryan-Matura Library in Fairfield, where he acquired a master’s degree in religious studies.

He is the author of several books, including An Introduction to Staff Development in Academic Libraries, published in 2009.

“I am very pleased with our selection,” said Martha Robilotti, president of the Board of Trustees. “It was not an easy task to find someone with the commitment  and dedication that Janet brought to the library for the past 31 years,” she said.

The board was impressed with Mr Fields’ breadth of experience in academic and public libraries, said Ms Robilotti, as well as his business experience. “He has also done fundraising, successfully, and we felt he could help bring the library to the next level. He brings a lot of energy and new ideas,” Ms Robilotti said.