Nazareth Memorial Library's New Director Heads to Work

You might say that Josh Berk -- who will take over as director of today, Jan. 17 -- was destined to be a librarian.

Berk’s parents both worked as librarians. His father, Jack Berk, was well-known as the longtime director of .

The young Josh Berk, however, had other ideas.

“I grew up loving books, but when I was a kid I wanted to be a baseball player, not a librarian,” Berk said in a phone interview last week with Patch.

Even after it became clear Berk would not make the big leagues, he did not plan a career in the library world. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science from Drew University in 1998.

Then it came time to find a full-time job -- and Berk’s library career “just happened,” he said.

Berk signed on as a clerk at the Allentown Public Library. He stayed there for 13 years, rising to become a consultant for community libraries throughout Lehigh and Carbon counties, in the Allentown library district. Along the way, he earned a master’s degree in library science through a University of Pittsburgh distance learning program.

Now Berk, 35, plans to hit the ground running as he takes the reins at Nazareth Memorial from retiring director Lynn Snodgrass-Pilla. But first, he said, he plans to “get the lay of the land.”

“There are a lot of staff and people to meet,” Berk said, adding that Nazareth Memorial impresses him as a “very well-run place.”

Berk acknowledged that times are tough for public libraries, due to belt-tightened state and local budgets, which provide the bulk of library funding. He said he would work to obtain grants -- which he described as “a big part of the director’s job” -- and also praised the private individuals and groups who support Nazareth Memorial.

Berk cited the library’s website, www.nazarethlibrary.org, as an excellent resource for those who want to keep track of the library’s many programs and activities.

The soon-to-be library director said that Nazareth’s proximity to his Hanover Township, Northampton County, home, as well as a chance to take his career to a new level, made the opportunity too good to pass up when the director’s position became available.

When asked what he considered his main goal out of the gate as the new director, Berk replied:

“Make a great library even better.”