Garden City Library Director Alan Roeckel is saying goodbye this June after serving the village for more than three decades. His official last day is Friday, June 20.

Roeckel began his career at the library Jan. 5, 1976. He'd like to think his biggest accomplishment was assembling the library's current staff, which, he believes, "is the best of any public library in Nassau County."

"The honor and pleasure are all mine," Roeckel said when his retirement went public at a recent board of trustees meeting. "This has been a marvelous opportunity for me and I certainly leave with deeply mixed emotions. But as many of you know my wife passed away ... My sons are my family and I believe this is the time for me to be with them. I shall miss this village and the good people in it..."

Roeckel has seen many changes during his 32-year stint. The library is open on Sundays for eight months of the year and on Saturday and Wednesday nights for the entire year. The library has been computerized, an audio-visual collection has been created, programming for all ages has been greatly expanded by staff and in conjunction with the Friends of the Library and, most recently, the renovation project has improved several service areas, all within the existing building's envelope, he noted.

He said the most recent change, the library's renovation project, came about as a result of focus groups held a few years ago. Based on the findings from those groups, the Young Adult Department was reworked and enlarged, a separate audio-visual room was set up and a computer lab doubling the number of workstations was carved out of former storage space, the periodical lounge was reconstituted, the lobby was refurbished together with new power assisted inner and outer doors, the quiet study area was relocated to a larger room and a café with WiFi, snack and beverage machines and attractive tables and chairs was launched in the lower level, he continued.

"As happens with all of our capital improvements, the renovation was a collaborative effort of myself, the staff, the Board of Library Trustees and the village board of trustees and staff. Of course, we would never have gotten the information vital to proceed, had it not been for the village residents who gave generously of their time and effort to serve on the focus groups," Roeckel admitted.

Thomas Witt, the library's assistant director, will act as director until the board of library trustees appoints a new, permanent director.

Roeckel, who lost his wife eight months ago, plans to move to the Denver suburbs where he will live with his three sons. "It's a very nice area, with lots of recreational opportunities," he said. "My oldest son, Tim, has promised to teach me how to fly fish in the mountain streams; right now, I don't think the fish have much to worry about. When I fish in Great South Bay, I can hear the faint sound of laughter under the water as I dangle my line over the side of the boat."

He said the Denver suburbs boast many good, public libraries, so, after he's settled, Roeckel will look for a part-time spot as a reference librarian, "completing the circle" of his career.

Saying goodbye to the Garden City community is filled with mixed emotions. Roeckel said the experience in the village was "extraordinary," he'll miss it all, the friendly people and the beauty of the village itself.

But, he admits, he'll feel the sharpest pangs for the people he works with, "who give their best day in and day out and have such kind and generous hearts," the board of library trustees, "a dedicated group of five people whose efforts and sacrifices go largely unremarked but are key to making all of the good things happen here," and my colleagues at village hall, including Bob Schoelle, Jim Olivo, Bob Mangan, Ernie Cipullo, Gil Frank, Kevin Ocker, Mike Filippon and Brian Ridgway, who, he said, have never hesitated to extend a helping hand when he's asked, and who, in his opinion, "are as fine a group of professionals as you'll find anywhere."

He recalls one anecdote about Frances Hale, the director who hired him. She had a soft spot for cats.

"That first winter I was at the library, five kittens wound up on our doorstep. Miss Hale took them in and they set up house in her office. Now I suspect that harboring cats was not in our manual of standard procedures," Roeckel remembered.

"They were well-trained and behaved and caused no trouble - except once. During the fall of that year, on a Friday afternoon, I noticed a lone patron at the card catalog. I didn't think anything of it particularly until she issued a blood-curdling cry and while looking down at the floor started to do a tarantella-like dance. I immediately jumped up from the reference desk and asked her what happened. She said she felt 'something wrap around my ankle!' At that instant, I saw the tip of a twitching tale disappear around a book stack, with one of the cats headed at flank speed back to Miss Hale's office. I mumbled something about 'an occasional field mouse coming in to get out of the cold' and that we'd take care of it. The patron had recovered her composure and seemed no worse for the experience. They noticed the feline critter's absence in the office, opened the door and he shot in, nevermore to leave its comfort and safety. Needless to say, there were few dry eyes in the library that afternoon, and I heard Miss Hale's distinctive laughter coming from her office," he said.