@Your Batavia Library: Welcome our new executive director

The Batavia Public Library is turning a new page this month, beginning an exciting next chapter as we welcome our new executive director.

Josephine “Jo” Tucci began serving as executive director June 12. Tucci comes to the Batavia Public Library from the Lincolnwood Public Library, where she served as library director for almost four years. Before that, Tucci served for 17 years at the Berwyn Public Library, first as a librarian and then in managerial roles.

Tucci, the mother of 23-year-old triplet sons and a 19-year-old daughter, is excited to serve Batavians and meet the community.

“Batavia is such a bustling and vibrant community and I can’t wait to explore its neighborhoods, shops, municipal entities and local businesses,” Tucci said.

Patrons may see Tucci at the checkout desk, checking out makerspace projects or making a little banjo player out of colorful pipe cleaners.

“I’m a very approachable, friendly person and I love to interact with people,” she said. “If I’m out on the floor, please say ‘hello.’”

Add a little spice to your summer

We’ve all been there. Searching for that special zing. The one to put a little sizzle in our summer. And just maybe we’ll find our perfect match.

Perfect book match, that is.

Our librarians can help you find your perfect book match during Windmill City Festival weekend, introducing you to some of the books they simply can’t stop talking about.

Speed Dating with Books is scheduled for 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, July 8, in the Library Reading Garden. Librarians have selected 22 books for this year’s event, which is hosted in partnership with the Batavia Park District.

The books are:

• “Year of the Tiger: An Activist’s Life” by Alice Wong

• “Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands” by Kate Beaton

• “Owls of the Eastern Ice” by Jonathan C. Slaght

• “Legends and Lattes” by Travis Baldree

• “The Trees” by Percival Everett

• “Unlikely Animals” by Annie Hartnett

• “Hollywood Homicide” by Kellye Garrett

• “Into the Beautiful North” by Luis Alberto Urrea

• “This Is Happiness” by Niall Williams

• “City of Thieves” by David Benioff

• “The Humans” by Matt Haig

• “Magpie Murders” by Anthony Horowitz

• “Nothing to See Here” by Kevin Wilson

• “Catherine House” by Elisabeth Thomas

• “Wahala” by Nikki May

• “Four Thousand Weeks” by Oliver Burkeman

• “Land of Lincoln: Adventures in Abe’s America” by Andrew Ferguson

• “The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics” by Daniel James Brown

• “The Witches: Salem, 1692″ by Stacy Schiff

• “Hidden America: From Coal Miners to Cowboys, An Extraordinary Exploration of the Unseen People Who Make This Country Work” by Jeanne Marie Laskas

• “March” by John Lewis

• “Grandma Gatewood’s Walk” by Ben Montgomery

Head to the library before the festival July 8. You just might find the book you never knew you always wanted.