Seattle PL's Jacobs To Join Gates Fdn.

Seattle City Librarian Deborah Jacobs will leave the Seattle Public Library on July 2 to lead the Global Libraries Initiative of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, based in Seattle. Jacobs came to Seattle in 1997 from Corvallis, OR, where she directed the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library and, in 1994, won LJ's Librarian of the Year honor (LJ 1/95). In Seattle, she is perhaps most noted for advancing a $235 million plan—including the largest bond issue approved by U.S. voters at the time—to nearly double the space in 22 branches and build a spectacular new Central Library, designed by Rem Koolhaas, which opened in 2004. As with some other libraries, however, operating funds have not always kept pace.

“Deborah is an outstanding leader who brings tremendous expertise and passion for libraries to the foundation,” said Chip Lyons, director of special initiatives for the Gates Foundation, in a news release. “She has a deep understanding of the important role libraries play in addressing inequities through free public access to information.” “This is a big change, but our library is stronger than ever,” Jacobs wrote in an email. “I know that staff, along with the library board, Foundation Board, Friends board, mayor, and city council will continue moving forward together to create an amazing library of the future.”