Library Director Search Revised in East Baton Rouge
Norman Oder -- Library Journal, 8/22/2008
- Only seven librarians apply, all from out of state; four to be interviewed
- New rules would make it easier for current staffers to seek job
- Plans for main library revised
Only seven librarians, all from out of state, applied to head the largest public library system in Louisiana, the East Baton Rouge Parish Library, leading the board to change its requirements for applicants, according to the Advocate. Now current staffers can apply if they have three years, rather than five, of experience as a library director or assistant director.
Board chairman Dan Reed told the newspaper that he was disappointed at the initial response, given that 18 people applied during the last director search in 2003. Former director Lydia Acosta left in June for a job in Florida.
The board, which earlier released the résumés of the seven applicants, announced Thursday that four would be invited for interviews: Emily Eddy, a library media specialist at the Alamo Navajo Community School in Magdelena, NM; David Farrar, director of the Talladega Public Library, AL; Michael Lamb, former assistant director of the Jackson District Library, MI; and Michael Golrick, former director of L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library, Eau Claire, WI. (Golrick is described in the Advocate is being director in Eau Claire, but he has left that position.)
New main revised
Meanwhile, some residents have complained that plans for a 62,000-square-foot downtown library have impinged on plans for a new main library to replace the current facility to the east of downtown at Independence Park. Library officials, according to the Advocate, say that rising construction costs plus the costs of another new branch have cut into funds for the new main library.
While the board had previously planned two floors with 43,000 square feet and a third floor encompassing 13,562 square feet, it agreed Thursday to add 15,000 square feet to the third floor and make sure that the building is designed for additional buildout of that floor.
