Janet Whelan, who has served on the Warwick Public Library Board of Trustees since 1976, some 40 years, retired this month.

Whelan was on the board during the planning and construction of the renovation and addition to the facility on Sandy Lane in 1998.

She has worked with four library directors and 25 trustees during her extensive tenure. In 2000 she was recognized by the Rhode Island Library Association along with Anne Kayarian and Jean Martin as Trustee of the Year for her many accomplishments at the Warwick Library.

In a release, the library said, she has been a tireless and unassuming library advocate, as well as a mentor and friend to the library's trustees, directors and staff.

Stephanie Carter, current chair of the Board of Trustees, said, "Janet has been our leader and our group's historian over the years. We will all miss her insights and the wisdom she brought to the board."

Mayor Avedisian declared December 15 as Janet Whelan Day in recognition of her 40 years of volunteer service to the city's public library.

The library's trustees and staff wished her luck with her future endeavors and thanked her for her many years of service to the library and the City of Warwick.