California's Hildreth Among Finalists for Top Post at Boston Public Library

Norman Oder -- Library Journal, 08/13/2008

• Hildreth, Ryan, Gonzalez on list
• Unclear if lawyer/politician Birmingham remains
• Decision may be made Thursday

Susan Hildreth, California's State Librarian, is among the four finalists under consideration to become the next president of the Boston Public Library, according to today's Boston Globe. The article updates previous reports that the search committee for the post had narrowed the pool to six.
 
Along with Hildreth, other finalists are Amy Ryan, who directs the Hennepin County Library, MN, and Mario  Gonzalez, who recently retired from the Greenwich Library, CT. While the Globe last month reported that lawyer/politician Thomas Birmingham, seen to be an ally of Boston mayor Thomas Menino, was among the finalists, today it said it's "unclear whether Birmingham is a fourth finalist to be interviewed tomorrow or whether he has dropped out." 

Interviews of the four finalists will be held tomorrow; the public will be able to observe but not ask questions. The board of trustees, seen as under Menino's control and responsible for the ouster of longtime president Bernard Margolis, may make its choice tomorrow but could continue to deliberate Friday.