Hampton Library Director Makes a Move to Hampton Bays

Susan LaVista, the director of the in Bridgehampton, was named this week as the new director of the .

The announcement was made via a press release sent to the media on Wednesday. 

LaVista will officially take over for Mike Firestone, who is the , according to the release.

“I am very excited about this opportunity and I look forward to my role as director and working with the board, staff and community to continue to deliver exceptional library service and being a partner inside the Hampton Bays/East Quogue communities,” LaVista said.

LaVista has served as the Hampton Library's director for the past seven years, overseeing a $6 million dollar expansion at the library.

According to LaVista, that expansion, which is coming to a close, doubled the size of the Hampton Library, allowing for new technology, energy efficiency, more community space and a better work environment for employees.

Of leaving her post at Bridgehampton, she said, “The timing was right and this new job is a very nice opportunity for me.”

LaVista says she trusts that the Hampton Library Board of Trustees will be able to find a suitable replacement.

“There are a lot of qualified candidates out there,” she said.

Prior to serving as Hampton Library's director, LaVista served as head of
circulation at the Westhampton Public Library.

“I have 20 years of library experience on the East End,” said LaVista, who hails from Westhampton Beach with her husband and two children.

LaVista holds a masters in library science from Queens College and an administrative certificate from Long Island University.

Kathleen Kennedy, the president of the board of trustees at the Hampton Bays Public Library, said of LaVista’s hiring: “We are very fortunate to have such a highly skilled administrator enter out community at a time when our library is used more than ever before.”