Interim library director appointed

The Monroe County Library recently appointed Cass Owens as new interim director after the previous director, David Ivy, resigned.\nJohn Anderson, associate director of Main Library Services, said Owens, the associate director of Outreach and Support Services, would act as director until a new director is appointed by the board.\n"The Library Board will conduct a nationwide search for a new director and is studying proposals by search firms on how to find a new director," Anderson said.\nThe responsibilities of the director include budgeting responsibilities and organizing the day-to-day operations of the library.\nOwens said she will take over the operations of the main library until a permanent director is appointed. \n"The board wants to take their time in appointing a new director," she said.\nShe said library operations will proceed as before, and in some situations, they will pause and look at aspects of the library that have been in the works to change, such as combining each department desk to make it easier to ask for information.\n"We want to make things as good as they can be in the library, and we have a good group of department managers and senior staff that will work well together," Owens said.\nBoard of trustees President Pat Steele said, "Owens' first task will be concentrating on the budget process and also concentrating on the number of work groups that have plans and ideas within the library."\nSteele said in the more than 10 years Owens has been at the library, she has dedicated time and leadership and has shown her stability and dedication to the library. Steele also said Owens has the right attitude and spirit to be the interim director.\n"What needs to be understood is that the changes that are happening throughout the library need to run more smoothly and we need to help out those people who think those changes are controversial," Steele said. \nSome of these changes include working out the way books are ordered, having a centralized desk, increasing magazine subscriptions and improving outreach services to collection centers such as retirement homes, daycare and workplace centers. The library is also thinking about extending its hours.\n"Cass has lots of experience and is well-liked by the staff," Anderson said. "She will do an excellent job as the interim director and knows people because of her experience."\nOwens said she is excited to begin the job and said she has numerous ideas of how to increase the library's quality. \n"I am excited and apprehensive to be the interim director, but I keep telling myself that I am just going to do the best that I can," Owens said.\n-- Contact staff writer Katie Killebrew at kpkilleb@indiana.edu.