Library Trustee Honored for More Than 3 Decades of Service

When Vincent R. O'Leary of Stony Brook first began his service as a trustee at Emma S. Clark Memorial Library, gasoline was 86 cents per gallon, "Superman The Movie" had recently been released, and Jimmy Carter was president of the United States of America.

O'Leary, who began his post in 1979 and still continues to serve, was recently honored by the Board of Trustees as the longest-serving member of the board in library history. O'Leary has served for 33 years and 8 months.

Previously, the record holder for the longest-serving trustee was Samuel Twybill Brown, who served from November of 1918 to July of 1951.

"As a new director, I often relied on Mr. O'Leary's advice and guidance in working through issues that came up during my first year," library director Ted Gutmann said in a statement. "Mr. O'Leary's knowledge of the history of the library and of our community is certainly an asset that we're lucky to have."