Czarnecki was nominated by Eileen Nieves, a fellow librarian and the library's coordinator of children's services. Union County announced the honorees in May, presented through its Board of County Commissioners; Czarnecki reflected on the recognition in a Sept. 9 interview with Union News Daily, calling it humbling and saying she's grateful to serve a community she loves working alongside.
Her programming includes fiber-arts offerings such as Spin at Night, weaving and the library's Yarnies group, along with Paper Pals, a paper-craft program. Those recurring activities create a welcoming place for adults with shared interests to meet, learn and make something together. A $5,000 Level Up Your Library grant helped fund Paper Pals specifically, paying for a die-cutting machine, laminating equipment and paper and craft supplies substantial enough to support an extra day of programming each month.
The SHERO Award adds to a run of recognition for Czarnecki: the Libraries of Union County Consortium named her Yarnies program its 2019 Adult Services Program of the Year, and Kenilworth Borough Council named her Employee of the Year in 2017. The Kenilworth library is the only one she has worked at, and she has described it as her dream job. "The library is my identity," Czarnecki told Union News Daily.
Outside the library, Czarnecki is a devoted fiber artist herself, spending her free time gardening, spinning yarn, weaving and knitting — the same crafts she shares with the adults who show up to her programs. For Kenilworth, the SHERO Award recognizes not just a single achievement but a quarter-century of quietly building community, one program at a time.