After 20 years of serving as director of the Farmingdale Public Library, Dina Chrils is leaving the position to serve as assistant director of a neighboring library.

Chrils, who was instrumental in getting the new library built in the early 1990s, along with the Library Board of Trustees and Friends of the Farmingdale Library, said her new position at the Patchogue-Medford Library will provide her with a salary upgrade and a shorter commute.

Being closer to home, she noted, will allow her to spend more time with her family. "It really reduces my commute," she said Tuesday. "And my kids are at an age - they're 12 and 14, where, it's harder to be away from them."

Today is Chrils' last day at the Farmingdale Library. Margaret Marino, a member of the library staff, will be the librarian in charge while the board of trustees searches for a new director in compliance with Nassau County Civil Service Commission regulations.

The Board of Trustees and the Friends of the Farmingdale Library honored and extended best wishes to Chrils at a reception at the Farmingdale Public Library Gallery this Sunday, Feb. 6, and expressed words of gratitude to her during her last library board meeting Tuesday night.

"We consider ourselves extremely fortunate to have worked with Dina for these many years," Dr. Laurie Rozakis, vice-president of the board stated on behalf of all the trustees during the meeting. "We wish her all good fortune in her new position in Patchogue."

Ken Ulrich, president of the Friends of the Farmingdale Library, said he appreciated Chrils' constant support for the group, which was a driving force behind the bond referendum that funded the construction of the library in 1994. "She worked real hard when we were trying to convince the public of the need for this facility," he said, for example, by meeting with community groups to gain public support for the project. "She always went above and beyond."

He added, "I want to publicly thank Dina for working so hard with the Friends to do so many things with the library...She was a great person to work with and we're going to miss her."

Asked what she feels her greatest accomplishments with the Farmingdale Library have been, Chrils responded, "I really don't see anything that has happened here as solely my accomplishment or something that I did alone. I would say though, that the most wonderful thing that I have seen happen in the Farmingdale Library in the 20 years that I was here, was the camaraderie and the commitment from the library board and the community itself, and the Friends of the Library in building a new facility for the community."

She added, "Because it has become the meeting place in Farmingdale. It truly has become the community center." In addition to serving as a repository of books and other informational media, the library is home to an art gallery and large meeting rooms. Located in the building's lower level, these host several community organizations, ranging from the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) to the Girl Scouts.

Chrils noted that the aspect of the library that she will miss most are the patrons. "The thing that always impressed me most about Farmingdale, was the people who use the library - the library supporters, the library users - they were always pleasant. They were always friendly. You always felt when you were helping them that they truly appreciated everything that you did for them," she said.

"And I've developed lots of what I would call friendships with individuals here in Farmingdale, and with various groups. And I think that that's something very, very unique to this community, that there is that feeling of camaraderie, that feeling of working together in a community, that I didn't see in other libraries that I've worked in, and that I get a sense from working with my professional colleagues, doesn't really exist too often. And that's something that I'm really going to miss."

As for her hopes for the future of the Farmingdale Library, Chrils would like to see the continued expansion of the institution's collection, and the maintenance of the library as a center of the community.

"And I think with the current board of trustees, it will," she said. "Because they are absolutely committed to continuing to make this place a first-class operation."