The New Berlin Library is holding an election for two Library Board of Trustee seats. The election will be held from November 1st through November 27th. All current New Berlin Library patrons over the age of 18 with a valid library card are eligible to vote in the election. The ballot box will be opened and the votes tabulated at the November 28th board meeting held at 6:00 pm in the New Berlin Library Community Room.

Let’s meet the nominees.

Julie Baltich has been a resident of the village of New Berlin and an active New Berlin Library patron for 5 years. Julie home-schools her 3 children and is a pastor’s wife. She enjoys reading, music, and watching her children learn and grow.

Alan Fairbrother is a retiree and has been a resident of Pittsfield and a New Berlin Library patron for 15 years. Upon moving to the area he bought a derelict farmhouse and he states that he “dragged it screaming into the 21st century.” Prior to Pittsfield, Alan lived in New York City where he was a cabinet and bookcase maker and a competitive long distance runner. He has served 2 years on the New Berlin Library Board of Trustees and is also a member of the Unadilla Valley Railroad Society Board.

Lynn LaValley is a resident of the Village of New Berlin and an active New Berlin Library patron. She has been a teacher at various educational establishments for the past 41 years and currently, she is a Social Studies teacher at Unadilla Valley Central School. Lynn is the 6th-grade Safety Patrol Officer and has chaperoned the Washington DC trip for the Safety Patrol for the past 28 consecutive years. She is also the adviser to the Middle/High School Reading Club. In the past, she has been the adviser to numerous other clubs and sports teams. Lynn is a self-professed avid reader and states that it is important to her “to help promote the stability and growth of our library and to get more young people involved in reading and using the library.”