Before stepping into her new role, Cvitanovic worked with the Library through various channels, including as director of the YMCA’s adult literacy program for over a decade, which is located on the third floor of Main Library. There, she said she saw the “enormous amount of work,” that goes into running a library, as well as the wide array of services that staff provide.

Cvitanovic was also involved in two successful millage campaigns that ensured the Library would be fully funded for the next two decades. 

“Working on those campaigns showed me how many people feel as I do – that libraries are a necessity, not a luxury, and we cannot have a healthy, thriving city without a healthy library system,” she said.

The main Friends’ main goal is to help fund SUMMER FUN programs, literary festivals, teen and adult skill-building workshops, year-round events, and more. For Cvitanovic, this means working side-by-side with Library staff, which is something she’s looking forward to most.

“I think that the role of Friends is to trust the Library staff –– who are the experts at what they do –– to tell us about the programming that the public wants,” Cvitanovic said. “The staff have their ears to the ground, and I look forward to hearing their ideas about what the Friends can help support in the next year.”

Though Cvitanovic said picking a favorite Library location is an impossible task, as, “they all have their particular flavor,” she said she’ll always have a soft spot for Main.

“I spent many happy years working within those walls and learning just how much our Library staff does for the public at large,” she said.

Interested in joining the Friends? Visit their website, friendsnola.org, for more information.