Philadelphia's Shelkrot Will Step Down After 20 Years

-- Library Journal, 4/24/2007

Elliot Shelkrot, director and president of the Philadelphia Free Library for the past 20 years, announced yesterday that he would step down at the end of this year. The story made the front page of the Philadelphia Inquirer, as did a photo of one of the library's most recent accomplishments, the first annual Philadelphia Book Festival, which brought in some 150 authors and exhibitors in and around the library. Shelkrot, who will be 64 in June, told LJ he was retiring from his job, with no new job lined up, "although I expect I'll be doing some consulting and other things on a part-time basis." He is a past president of the Public Library Association and the Urban Libraries Council.

Shelkrot said the timing was not related to the announcement last week of a $15 million gift to the capital campaign for the central library's expansion, though he was proud that the capital campaign was well under way. "It has been something I've been thinking about," he said. "Twenty years is a long time to run an organization like this, and it's time for someone to come in with new ideas and bring a fresh view." W. Wilson Goode Sr., the city's former mayor and now chair of the library's board of trustees, told the Inquirer that Shelkrot was "the right leader at the right time….He is able to tell the library story in a way that makes people want to support it."

Shelkrot noted that, when he arrived, the library wasn't able to offer the hours it does today: six-day service at the branches, with seven days at the regional libraries and main library. "I've done some exciting things here," he said. "I have a terrific staff and the board has been great." He cited the $65 million renovation of the branches, completed about six years ago with the help of $40 million in private funds. The book festival is an example of a new emphasis on book culture; an author series, as well as another featuring YA authors, has become quite popular.

Shelkrot, the former Pennsylvania State Librarian, recalled that when he left Harrisburg, the Maryland State Librarian, Nettie Taylor, advised him, "There's three things you need to know to be successful in Philadelphia. The problem is, nobody knows what they are." Shelkrot has weathered some rough seas, notably roiled by budget cuts. In 2005, faced with a loss of $2 million, Shelkrot proposed, rather than closing libraries, to operate 20 branches on a part-time basis, managed by paraprofessionals. The backlash, which led to restoration of funding, won two City Councilors LJ's 2005 Politician of the Year award. "Of course there's stress and strain that those things happen," Shelkrot said. "Each time that's happened, the public has said, 'We want our libraries.'"