Meet the Youth Services Staff!

Miss Elizabeth, Youth Services Department Head

Miss Elizabeth joined our staff in 2019. Before joining us, she spent 4 years working in both Westchester and Connecticut, as a Youth Services Librarian. Prior to receiving her Masters in Library and Information Studies, she worked as library support staff for 9 years. She spends most of her time off playing tabletop board games with her husband, or reading J or YA books with their cats Alfredo & Asiago.

Her favorite imaginary creatures are caticorns and purrmaids.

Her favorite books include: Interrupting Chicken, Narwhal & Jelly, Junie B Jones, the Alice Series, Land of Stories, and any YA book by Sarah Dessen, Stacey Lee, or Neal Shusterman.

Youth Services Assistant Department Heads

Miss Jessica

Miss Jessica has worked at Finkelstein since 2010, starting as a Clerk before earning her Masters in Library Science. In addition to Finkelstein, she has worked in Orange County and Connecticut. You might also spot her at other Rockland Libraries. She loves going to the theater and is a practiced singer. She spends her free time with her four cats and five rats, and fosters bunnies and kittens for the local shelter.

Her hidden talent is that she can lick her elbow. Can you?

Her favorite books include: Madeline, Wolfie the Bunny, James and the Giant Peach, Ramona Quimby, Age 8, Fangirl, The Truth About Forever, and the Confessions of Georgia Nicholson series.

Miss Dianne

Dianne joined the Finkelstein Youth Services team in 2019. Dianne has over 10 years of library experience in teen and adult services. She is enjoying the transition to youth services, especially since now she gets to read picture books. In her spare time, she enjoys baking new flavors of scones, herb gardening, and reading science fiction, fantasy and mysteries.

She has also become a bit of a birdwatcher, and now she can proudly identify the difference between a starling and a common grackle. Most of the time.

Her favorite books include The Last Unicorn, Stardust, Code Name Verity, Truly Devious series, Belles duology, Folk of the Air series, Throne of Glass series, Newford series, Ellen Kushner’s Riverside series, and Marvel 1602.

Youth Services Librarians

Miss Gaby
Miss Gaby has been working at Finkelstein since 2006. Prior to receiving her Masters Degree in School Librarianship, she taught preschool for 5 years. When not at work, she spends most of her time with her two boys, Max and Leo, their dog Buster and cat Freedom. They love to head out to her parent’s house in Long Island as much as they can, especially in the summers, spending time with family members, cooking great barbecues, sitting by the water reading, swimming or going out for a ride on grandpa’s boat.

Some of her favorite books include, Guess How Much I Love You, I Love You Through and Through, The Giving Tree, There’s An Alligator Under My Bed, I Love You, Fred, Charlotte’s Web, From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, The Outsiders, Wuthering Heights, and Jane Eyre.

Miss Sue Miss Sue joined our staff as a full-time librarian in 2019, after 11 years of working at the Finkelstein Memorial Library as a substitute librarian in Youth Services. Prior to joining us full-time, she worked as a public school librarian for 21 years in both New Jersey and New York. She of course can always be found with a book on her lap reading, when at home. She enjoys spending time with family and their pet dog, Maggie. When spring arrives, you will also find her busy in her flower and vegetable gardens.

Her favorite books are, “The Music of the Dolphins,” and “Out of the Dust” both by Karen Hesse. Her favorite storybook character is Pet the Cat.

Miss Liz (PPT)
Miss Liz has worked at Finkelstein since 2007, where she started as a Full-Time Children’s Librarian. Before that, she was a NYC paralegal for 10 years before switching over into Librarianship, receiving a Master’s in Library and Information Science from the Palmer School at Long Island University. She loves nature, old-school punk and metal, spirituality and reading, mostly non-fiction books.

Her favorite books are: Understood Betsy, The Cricket in Times Square, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, the Little House on the Prairie series, anything non-fiction (especially by Steve Sheinkin).

Youth Services Library Assistants

Miss Lisa
Miss Lisa has worked at Finkelstein since 2007. Before working at the Library, she received a Master’s in Special Education and worked for both NYPL and NYCEDU for over 15 years. She loves dogs and once owned a Sheba Innu. She loves spending time by the ocean collecting sea shells and sea glass. In her spare time she loves traveling, gardening and cooking her favorite candy is Jolly Ranchers so you always smell sweet fruit flavors around her.

Her favorite books include Abiyoyo, Cha Cha boom, Why do Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears, Another, The Outsiders, Homegoing, the The Autobiography of Malcolm X and Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass.

Miss Michelle Miss Michelle joined the Finkelstein Memorial Library team in 2021. She enjoys hanging out with friends and family, as well as cooking, shopping, and traveling. She is also a huge reality show junkie and enjoys going to the movies.

Some of her favorite books include the Divergent series, and anything by Debbie Macomber or Jojo Moyes. Her all time favorite book is The Outsiders (a true classic)!

Miss Isabelle
Miss Isabelle joined the Finkelstein staff in 2023. Before working here, she spent five years as a Programmer and Library Assistant in the Mid-Hudson System. When not at work or working on her masters, Isabelle enjoys spending time with her cat and dog, playing Dungeons and Dragons, working on her ever-growing vegetable garden, and making pickles and jams.

Her favorite books include Color of my Words, Walk Two Moons, The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Firekeeper’s Daughter, and Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World.