Faces of Smithtown: Robert Lusak, Library District Director

Robert Lusak, director of the Smithtown Special Library District, is working hard on new renovations currently going on in two of the districts four buildings. He grew up with parents who worked in the library business and soon joined the profession after serving in the United States Army as a Second Lieutenant following college.

How did you end up as the library director? What made you decide to pursue this career?

In high school I worked as a library page at the Emma S. Clark library in Setauket. I also come from a library family; both of my parents were in the library profession. My dad was a library director at Comsewogue and my mom was a senior library clerk at the Port Jefferson free library … when I graduated college I became an officer in the United States Army and after the Army I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. I tried a couple of things and wasn’t really happy with them and because I had library in my blood because of my parents and my job as a page I eventually decided to go back into the profession that I really enjoyed as a high school student.

Is there anything you take from your military experience that you apply to your job today?

Being an officer in the army a lot of it was administrative, being in charge of soldiers and preparing them for the possibility of going to war. Just being in charge of the day to day operations of a military company and I was responsible for the soldiers day to day training whether it was in classrooms or out in the field. I worked with drill sergeants to prepare them for their daily training.

What are your duties as the library director?

I’m the chief administrative officer of the entire library district which is made up of Smithtown main and three branches. I oversee four buildings, the entire library district. I’m responsible for the day to day operations of the library as well as formulating policies, putting together a budget for library board approval and right now my biggest responsibility is the library construction project.

How active in the renovations have you had to be?

I would say it takes up at least 80-to-85 percent of my time overall has been spent focusing on the project itself since the construction started. That’s basically to make sure the project runs smoothly, making decisions on things that need to be made concerning the project. During construction of course you always come across thing you didn’t know about – things behind that wall type of thing – so those kinds of decisions I’m also responsible for. Also, any type of change to the project – add alternates, change orders – I bring to the library boards attention for approval.

What are some of your interests outside of your job?

I like to travel and I’m a big Disney enthusiast – a Disney nut. Whether it’s Disney history or vacationing to Disney World or Land, I love everything Disney. Even the wallpaper on my iPhone and my iPhone case are Disney.

I also like to run, marathon running or local 5K races. One of my biggest accomplishments to date is that I ran last October with my wife in the Disney half marathon.