Paula Moore, who spent 11 years as the public services coordinator, was named executive librarian on Wednesday by the board of trustees.
The Downers Grove resident has been the acting executive librarian since Lynn Stainbrook resigned in September.
"The past two-plus months have been an opportunity for the board to assess my skills and set a vision for the library," Moore said. "It's reaffirmed that we really work well together as a team."
Moore's annual salary will be $127,000. Stainbrook was making $129,000 when she retired.
Moore led the library on an interim basis for six months in 2004 following Kathy Balcom's retirement. Though trustees considered her a candidate for the permanent job, Library Board President G. Victor Johnson said the timing wasn't right.
"Paula wasn't ready to be promoted," Johnson says. "I don't think she had the self-confidence and took herself out of the running. But she's grown quite a bit and she's a different person."
As public services coordinator, Moore's team renovated the library's public space, added more computers and a vending cafe, and continued to develop services at the senior center. Most recently, she coordinated staff to work later and extend weekend hours by 30 minutes to 5:30 p.m.
In addition to revising the library's long-range plan to be "even more responsive to customers," Moore said changes are in the works.
The library in the next few weeks will begin offering reference services by appointment. In February, a redesigned welcome desk will help get patrons started on their visits. The library also plans to open a new bookmobile next year.
The board held several meetings to discuss the appointment, but never conducted an outside search.
"We know what we've got here," Johnson said. "It just makes sense to stick with Paula because we think she's great."
No comments:
Post a Comment