The Rochester Public Library (RPL) and Monroe County Library System (MCLS) Boards of Trustees announced the appointment of Emily Clasper as the new Director of the Rochester Public Library effective Jan. 13, 2025. Current Rochester Public Library Director Patricia Uttaro will retire from the helm of the RPL and MCLS in February.

Emily Clasper currently serves as Associate Director of the Rochester Public Library, and previously was the Director of Service Strategies for the University of Rochester’s River Campus Libraries. She earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree from SUNY Geneseo and her Master of Library and Information Science from Long Island University.

“I am thrilled and honored for this opportunity to serve the Rochester community,” said Clasper. “This is a mission that is dear to my heart because our libraries are essential to ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to thrive.”

Clasper’s appointment comes after a nationwide search for a new director, which began after Patricia Uttaro announced her planned retirement.

During Uttaro’s tenure, library attendance and utilization of library programs significantly expanded. She oversaw the implementation of a wide variety of innovative new library programs and services, including the Archive of Black History, the Shoulders to Stand on LGBTQ Archive, and the Business Insight Center at the Central Library. She instituted Raising a Reader and Talking is Teaching programs for young readers and families, and most recently launched the new RPL GO! mobile library.

In addition, Uttaro led the elimination of overdue book fees at RPL which successfully encouraged hundreds of families to return to using local libraries and established a focus on digital equity which has ensured that no matter a family’s income or physical location, they have access to high-speed reliable internet.

Major capital improvement projects that Uttaro oversaw include the ROC the Riverway Rundel North Terrace development and substantial renovations at the Central Library and the Maplewood, Frederick Douglass, and Lincoln Branch libraries.

“Patty Uttaro has built a solid foundation by consistently providing more and better library services to our community,” said Donna P. Benjamin, President of the Rochester Public Library Board of Trustees. “I am grateful for her leadership, and I know that the next chapter of the RPL and MCLS story will be successful thanks to her efforts. Patty will truly be missed, and I wish her the absolute best in her retirement.”

“Patty has been an exceptional leader of one of our most critical community resources for 16 years and will be sorely missed. Patty has been a model public servant, ensuring that our libraries remained rich resource centers of engagement, lifelong learning, and access,” said Mayor Evans. “I am also pleased to have Emily Clasper step into the role of Director and thank the Rochester Public Library and Monroe County Library System Boards of Trustees for diligently guiding this transition. I look forward to working with Emily to continue expanding library programs and services for our community.”

“Patty Uttaro has become synonymous with Rochester Public Library and the Monroe County Library System, and you could fill a library with the knowledge she has accumulated over her more than 15 years serving as Library Director,” said County Executive Adam J. Bello. “As Patty transitions to a well-earned retirement, our community is incredibly fortunate to welcome Emily Clasper as the new Library Director. Having already served as Associate Library Director, Emily knows our libraries and our community, and I have every confidence she will embrace the spirit of innovation that has been central to the success of our libraries.”

“The Rochester Public Library and Monroe County Library System Boards of Trustees would like to thank Patty Uttaro for her service, and we are excited to welcome Emily Clasper as the system’s new director,” said Donna P. Benjamin, RPL Board President. “She understands the diverse needs of the communities we serve, and we look forward to her leadership to enhance library partnerships and drive breakthrough services.”

“The Monroe County Library System has flourished under the leadership of Library Director Patty Uttaro. To Patty, leading our libraries wasn’t a job – it was a calling, and we are grateful for her years of dedicated service to the community,” said Monroe County Library System Board Chair Christopher Corcoran. “I also express my gratitude to the members of the MCLS Board of Directors, the RPL Board of Directors, and the staff at the library who helped us in our search for our next Library Director. In Emily Clasper, I am confident we have found a community-driven leader who will guide our libraries into the future. I join all my board colleagues in thanking Patty for her service, and welcoming Emily to this new role.”

Uttaro began her library career at the City of Rochester as a clerk at the Central Library downtown in 1986, and held increasingly responsible positions in the Gates, Odgen and City libraries until being appointed Director of the Rochester Public Library and Monroe County Library System in 2009.

“Serving the community as Library Director has been a privilege and an honor,” said Uttaro. “I owe a great deal of thanks to the countless people who have contributed to the success of our library system along the way, including our wonderful patrons, the library staff and those serving on our boards. I am confident that our libraries will continue to prosper and deliver excellent, critical services for many years to come.”