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Members of the Regional Library Board have actively begun their search
for a new executive director to take over from Paul Johnson who will be
retiring early next year. "We hope to have someone in place by February
or March," said Barbara Speece, chairman of the local Library Board who
also heads the search committee.
Currently the library serves the entire county with two locations, one
in the Town of Halifax, the other in South Boston and has a collection
of 130,000 items, a staff of 14 and an annual budget of $458,000.
Search committee members note that candidates for the director's post
must have an MLS from an ALA accredited program, certification as a
Librarian by the Commonwealth of Virginia's State Board for the
Certification of Librarians. In addition to the degree and
certification, the candidates need to have some three to five years of
administrative experience including budgetary and financial management,
strong leadership skills, expertise in library technology and related
issues, an ability to communicate well with all constituents and a firm
commitment to community service.
"I'd like to see someone local get the job," said one board member on
Tuesday, hoping that a local applicant would apply for the position by
sending in his/her resume with three professional references to the
Search Committee, c/o Halifax Public Library, P. O. Box 1729, Halifax,
VA 24558. The deadline for applications is December 31, 2007.
In other business the committee on Tuesday voted to have its officers
serve two year terms, rather than the five year term listed in the
Board's by-laws. Consequently the current slate of officers will serve
until October of 2008 when new officers will be elected.
Johnson reported that the Library has seen continued growth with total
circulation up 7.5 percent from the same quarter of last year. Patron
visits in Halifax increased by 16.5 percent and in South Boston 2.2
percent over the same quarter of last year. Computer usage increased in
the two facilities by 19.9 percent.