Moffat, who will be leaving July 1, started at the library in 1988 as a reference librarian. She was appointed interim-director in 1999, and director of library services the following year.

Speaking to the Examiner this week, the Westmount resident downplayed the impact of her departure. "I'm just going to become a permanent library user from now on," she said. "I'll have way more time and I'm obviously still going to live in Westmount."

Councillor Kathleen Duncan, who represents city council on the Public Library Committee, said the committee's members plan to take Duncan out for lunch and hold an intimate goodbye party.

"She is an exceptionally bright person," Duncan said. "She was very dynamic in terms of her ability to manage the library and to cater to the community's needs. The most important thing was always to make sure that the activities offered at the library mirrored the needs of the community, and she handled that splendidly.

"She was extremely well organized and devoted to her job, lived in the community and thereby knew what was expected in the community," Duncan added. "She had a tremendous sense of humour and she was driven just to get the job done."

Mayor Karin Marks said Moffat played a crucial role in expanding access to various programs at the library. "Ann has really worked very hard to make sure the library wasn't just a repository of books, but a centre of information," she said. "I think that in today's world that's extremely important.

"Whether it's having all kinds of speakers and activities to animate or add to the experience of reading the books, or computer access to the various things that relate to that, or book clubs, she always really pushed to say that it's not just coming to a library to pick up a book."