Leslie Pallotta, director of the Moon Township Public Library for three years, is heading to Cranberry in Butler County where she will become library director starting Friday.

There were dozens of applicants for the vacancy created by the retirement of Cranberry Public Library Director Carol Troese. But when Bruce Mazzoni met Ms. Pallotta, he said he felt that she was "the one."

"Of course, I remained open to all the candidates, but as soon as I heard her talk about our library and about her plans for the future, I felt she would fit in perfectly with the staff and the community," said Mr. Mazzoni, a township supervisor who serves as liaison to the library board and who participated in the search for Mrs. Troese's replacement.

Ms. Pallotta, 36, of Ross, previously was children's librarian in Moon. Her salary in Cranberry will be $50,000 annually.

Maria Joseph, assistant director and reference librarian, will serve as acting director in Moon until the board of trustees names a new director.

Ms. Pallotta will usher in a new era for the Cranberry Public Library. Township officials envision the library expanding and relocating to what will be a new civic center across Rochester Road from its present location in the Cranberry Municipal Complex.

"I'm very excited about coming to Cranberry," Ms. Pallotta said in an interview.

Born in Erie, she moved with her family to Ross when she was about 2 years old and she has lived there since. She graduated from North Catholic High School and received a bachelor's degree in what she called "literature in English" from John Carroll University in Cleveland in 1994.

She received a master's degree in library science in 1996 from the University of Pittsburgh. She worked at the McKinley Memorial Library in Niles, Ohio, from 1996 to November 2000, at which time she was hired in Moon.

Asked what she liked about the potential job as Cranberry library director, she responded: "What's not to like?" She said she is impressed by Cranberry's continuing growth and township officials' progressive attitude.

"It's a growing community. It's a young community. And the thing that really strikes me is how vibrant a library it is and how everyone seems to be so appreciative of it," she said.

The township's financial support of the library -- dedicating property tax millage to the library as a reliable revenue source -- "speaks volumes," she said. "Cranberry is one of the few libraries in the state that has a dedicated tax revenue source. That appealed to me."

She said she is "thrilled" by the idea of coordinating an expansion of the library. "Township officials see the library as being the heart of a new community center. I love that idea," she said.

Ms. Pallotta views a library as not just a place to borrow books. "I see the library as a lifelong learning center. Learning goes beyond the classroom. There are so many different types of learning and I want the library to facilitate that," she said.

She hopes to continue offering books and DVDs to borrow and Internet access, but she also wants to partner with local municipal departments and organizations for programs that could range from fire safety for children to women's self-defense to teens teaching seniors to embrace technology.

She acknowledged she has big shoes to fill in replacing Mrs. Troese, who had been with the library nearly 25 years when she retired in November.

"It is an excellent facility and she was clearly an excellent library director," Ms. Pallotta said.