Betty Anne Reiter always has another project.

“Years ago we answered reference questions,” said Reiter, director of the Groton Public Library. “Now we’re so much more into community outreach, using computers, teaching technology ... What I did 20 years ago, 10 year ago, a year ago, is probably not the same thing I’m doing today.”

Reiter, of Mystic, was nominated by her staff and the library board, town manager and members of the schools and business community for Connecticut Library Association Outstanding Librarian for 2015.

She won, and was honored at the group’s annual conference on April 28 at the Mystic Marriott.

Groton Public Library will hold its own celebration at 2 p.m. on May 6, which is free and open to the public.

Over the years, Reiter has started job hunting workshops for unemployed residents, offered classes on the latest technology, brought library materials to nursing homes and rehabilitation centers and worked with every one of Groton’s public schools.

In 2012, when the Borders book store chain in Waterford went out of business, Reiter worked with the town’s purchasing agent to buy shelves, chairs, tables and cabinets at bargain prices.

Then she changed the layout of the library’s front section, creating a central area with one information desk so she could serve the children’s and adult areas in one place and minimize the need for staff.

“I have always considered the Groton Public Library to be one of the ‘jewels’ of our community,” Town Manager Mark Oefinger wrote to the library association.

Reiter started at the Groton library in 1981, became adult services supervisor in 1998 and was appointed library director in 2009.

The local library association credited Reiter with saving money while increasing programs.

“In a community where many families have a moderate to high level of economic challenge, Betty Anne always plans for the most positive impact of library service for the underserved,” wrote Marie Shaw, chair of the Groton Public Library board. “No matter if the program is for young children, teens, adults or the elderly, she makes sure services are free and open to the public.”

Under Reiter’s direction, the library installed three self-checkout stations, which 80 percent of visitors use to check out their own materials, staff said.

During the 1990s, Reiter set up job hunting workshops when unemployment was rampant after the downsizing of Electric Boat, wrote Cynthia Wright, manager of circulation and technical services, in supporting the nomination.

Hundreds of people attended the sessions during the next three years.

“Many attendees were out of work for the first time in years and needed help revising their resume and updating their cover letters,” Wright wrote.

Sean McKenna, assistant principal at Robert E. Fitch High School, has collaborated with Reiter for the past five years to build the school district’s summer reading program, he wrote to the association. The library has partnered with every school over the years.

In 2010, Reiter used a $100,000 grant from the Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut to create “Teenscape,” a separate section of the library that caters to teenagers and provides computers and a Wii.

“In more ways than one, she is truly outstanding,” McKenna wrote.

Reiter started the first “town read,” which later became the basis for “One Book, One Region,” a community-wide reading program in southeastern Connecticut and among the first in the state.

“I think one book, one region is kind of close to my heart,” Reiter said. Getting everyone in the region to read the same book and then talk about a topic, ranging from bullying to immigration, is important and a privilege to her, she said.

Annie Philbrick, owner of Bank Square Books, has worked with Reiter since buying the downtown Mystic bookstore in 2006.

Bank Square Books has hosted author events at the library and “Betty Anne has always been a generous and responsible advocate on our behalf and that of the community,” Philbrick wrote.

In 2013, Reiter organized a “How-to Festival” for residents, working with the Groton Parks and Recreation Department, the senior center and local businesses, to offer lessons how to do 50 different activities, including fly fishing, guide dog training and wood carving. The event helped earn the library the 2014 Excellence in Public Service award.

The following year, the library worked with the Smithsonian Institute and Connecticut Humanities Council to host an exhibit called “The Way We Worked,” which allowed visitors to view 86 photographs from 1857 until 1987, documenting American work places, conditions and conflicts.

Reiter has since obtained a grant to redesign the library’s history room to accommodate town historian James Streeter’s vast history collection, which includes more than 15,000 archived photos, never-used calendars from local businesses dating back to the 1940s and city directories from as far back as 1929.

In nominating Reiter, her colleagues wrote: “Her creative approach has allowed the library to expand our offerings in spite of challenging economic times. She excels in finding solutions and fosters a creative environment among her staff.

“She is well deserving of this honor.”

d.straszheim@theday.com

@DStraszheim