Gómez Leaves ULC for CA Job
Organization has grown, moved during leader's four-year tenure
By Norman Oder -- Library Journal, 9/1/2008
Martín Gómez, president of the Urban Libraries Council (ULC) for four years, will leave on October 24 to head the San Mateo County Library (SMCL), CA, near his home in San Francisco. “Martín has been an absolutely remarkable leader,” said ULC board chair Patrick Losinski, director of the Columbus Metropolitan Library, OH, praising Gómez for increasing ULC's visibility and mission, bringing “the ULC agenda to an international stage.”
During Gómez's four-year tenure, ULC membership grew by 29 percent, and the organization moved from Evanston, IL, to downtown Chicago and launched several new programs, including Foresight 2020, which aims to prepare libraries for the future. “The job of ULC president has been one of the most rewarding jobs I've ever had,” Gómez told LJ. “ULC is strong and well positioned for continued growth.”
Gómez headed the Brooklyn Public Library, NY, from 1995 until the beginning of 2002, when he was named executive director of the Friends & Foundation of the San Francisco Public Library. SMCL, south of San Francisco, includes 12 community libraries, serving 11 cities and towns and also unincorporated areas. (It is not a ULC member.)
