Stacey
Aldrich, whom Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed
in June, will be California’s new Deputy State
Librarian. After a move from Omaha, Nebraska where
she excelled as Assistant Director of the Omaha
Public Library, Aldrich will start at the
California State Library in Sacramento August 6,
2007.
Working
closely with State Librarian Susan Hildreth to
develop the California State Library’s service
program, Aldrich will assist in overseeing the
California State Library’s programs and managing
the operation of the library’s $89.7 million
budget. She will administer the Library
Development Services Bureau, which is responsible
for the distribution of all federal and state
local assistance, and the Information Technology
Bureau. Aldrich will also advise
Hildreth on new initiatives and major statewide
library program directions.
Of
Aldrich’s appointment, Hildreth says, “Stacey
Aldrich has a richly deserved national reputation
as both an innovative library futurist, and as an
inspiring and creative library leader. I am most
grateful to the Governor for having appointed her
and am excited to bring Stacey to California so
that California’s library
community can benefit from her
vision and experience.”
Aldrich
has over 15-years experience in the administration
and development of the nation’s libraries. As
Assistant Director of the Omaha Public Library
since 2005, she has not only been responsible for
a $9.8 million budget and staff of 150, but has
also led that urban library system as it has
implemented emerging electronic library service
programs. Between 1996 and 2005, Aldrich, as
Branch Chief of Public Libraries and State
Networking Branch for the Maryland
State Department of Education, Division of
Library Development and Services, helped provide
leadership, research, training, and planning to
Maryland’s twenty-seven public library systems.
Aldrich has also worked at the Washington DC
futuring think-tank, Coates and Jarratt, Inc., and
the Hood College Library in Frederick, Maryland,
where, from 1992-1996, she helped integrate new
library technologies and created and maintained
the library website.
In
California in 2007, Aldrich served as a presenter
for Infopeople,
the state’s premier professional library
training organization. Aldrich
delivered seven workshops to a total of 146
librarians as part of the library leadership
series, “Building Leadership Skills: Planning
for the Future.”
Aldrich
is a member of the American
Library Association, the Public
Library Association, the Nebraska
Library Association, and the Association
of Professional Futurists. She has a Master of
Arts in Librarianship and a Bachelor of Arts in
Russian Language and Literature from the
University of Pittsburgh.
For
the full-text of Governor Schwarzenegger’s press
release please visit: http://gov.ca.gov/index.php?/press-release/6590/.
Look
for an in-depth interview with Aldrich in fall
2007 issue of CSL Connection.
Aldrich
succeeds Cameron D. Robertson, who retired April
30, 2007. For more than 30 years, Cameron D.
Robertson’s work for the California State
Library as a library administrator, library
financial planner, and literacy campaigner,
enabled California libraries to thrive as cultural
cornerstones of California communities. Robertson’s
meticulous logistical planning on behalf of
libraries helped these crucial California
institutions to meet the evolving information
needs of their 21st century customers. Just one
example of Robertson’s extraordinary triumph at
the California State Library was the opening of
Library and Courts II at 900 N Street in May of
1994: Robertson developed and implemented the
financial and logistical plan for the astounding
building’s construction.
Also
retiring from the California State Library in
September 2007, is the distinguished government
administrator, Andrew St. Mary.
Look
for a profile of St. Mary in the fall 2007 issue
of CSL Connection.
