Bayonne Library Director J.P. Porcaro has advised the Library Board of Trustees and the City of Bayonne that he is leaving his position effective March 24.  He has accepted the position of Library Director in East Orange.  The Library Board of Trustees has named Bayonne Outreach Librarian Melody Scagnelli-Townley as Interim Director while the Board prepares a search for a permanent Director. 

Mr. Porcaro has served as Library Director in Bayonne since 2018, when he succeeded Sneh Bains.  In a letter to the library’s Board of Trustees, Porcaro wrote, “Since starting my position as Director in April 2018, I’ve worked to bring our library into the present culture.  I am very happy with the progress the Trustees and I have made, not the least of which is our $2 million-plus renovation project.”  That project is taking place currently.  Mr. Porcaro thanked “our Library Trustees, the Davis Administration, and the residents of Bayonne for allowing me to serve as Director of this beloved institution and trusting me with its future.” In the letter, Director Porcaro also thanked the Bayonne City Council for its financial support of the library “throughout the renovation process.”  He also expressed gratitude to the Bayonne Board of Education “for working closely with me on history and reading partnerships.” 

The incoming Interim Director, Mrs. Scagnelli-Townley, has served as Outreach Librarian in Bayonne since 2019. Among her previous employers have been the Bergen County Cooperative Library System, the Mahwah School District, and the Woodbridge School District. She earned a Master’s degree in Library and Information Science at Rutgers University in 2013.  Also at Rutgers, she completed a Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology and Informatics, with a minor in Comparative Literature.   Mrs. Scagnelli-Townley holds a New Jersey Professional Librarian Certificate and a Certificate of Eligibility as a School Library Media Specialist.  She was named an American Library Association Emerging Leader in 2017 and recently finished a term on the 2022 Alex Award Selection Committee. The Alex Award is a national award given annually to ten books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults, ages 12 through 18.